Indianola’s history is
mostly unwritten
The public archives hold only 2 old photos of Indianola. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗On June 30, 1874 the town was surveyed and on April 14, 1885 an addition was made from the land of G. W. Faison. The population of the town was 1098 in 1900. In 1891, Minnie M. Cox was appointed postmaster of Indianola, becoming the first black female postmaster in the United States. Her rank was raised from fourth class to third class in 1900, and she was appointed to a full four-year term. Cox's position was one of the most respected and lucrative public posts in Indianola, as it served approximately 3,000 patrons and paid $1,100 annually, then a large sum. White resentment to Cox's prestigious position began to grow, and in 1902 some white residents in Indianola drew up a petition requesting Cox's resignation. James K. Vardaman, editor of The Greenwood Commonwealth and a white supremacist, began delivering speeches reproaching the people of Indianola for "tolerating a negro wench as …
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowStart Indianola’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Indianola’s history is told.
2 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewMS-Indianola-Bettersworth0001 DES…, 1939: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Indianola
See all 26 →
Indianola, decade by decade
1960s
1990s
1 historic place in Indianola
Indianola has 1 listing on the National Register, and they protect 198 historic buildings, because Indianola Historic District alone counts 198.
Where they are
Architectural styles
When they were listed
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as MS-Indianola-Bettersworth0001 DESTROYED 1960s White Gold in the Delta (1939) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (6). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.