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History · Leaf

Leaf’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Leaf. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
0recent photos

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

Leaf was settled in 1838, and originally called "Salem". Most of the early settlers in the region were Irish, Scottish or English, and Salem's first families were the Thomsons, Cowarts, McKays, and McLeods.

Salem Academy was founded by W.W. Thompson, and operated between 1845 and 1862. Thompson later served as a Superintendent of Education of Greene County.

Leaf was a stop on the Mobile, Jackson and Kansas City Railroad, which later became the Illinois Central Railroad.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Be one of the first

Start Leaf’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Leaf’s history is told.

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people from Leaf

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Lloyd GreenLloyd GreenMusic
By decade

Leaf, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Leaf is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Leaf has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Leaf River Bridge in McLain, 7 miles away.

Leaf and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Leaf. Tap a dot.
Leaf River BridgeVernal Presbyterian ChurchMahned BridgeNew York, The

Closest to Leaf

Leaf River BridgeMcLain · Built 19077miVernal Presbyterian ChurchLucedale · Gothic Revival · Built 190811miMahned BridgeNew Augusta · Built 190221.8miNew York, TheBond · Built 191423.2mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Leaf River Bridge’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Leaf?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Leaf’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 McLain📜 Beaumont📜 Lucedale📜 Leakesville
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Where to, neighbor?

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/19 · 2025-01-01
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