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History
on a PinheadThe
town was established in the 1890s and supposedly named after “a South American
town” by a local merchant. Oplin was granted a post office in 1903 and reached
its high-water mark in 1915 with an estimated population of 300. Ten years later
it had declined to only 100.
The 1940 census reported 200 residents –
the last substantial numbers before a post war decline. The town lost its post
office in the early 1960s and the 1990 census reported 75 Oplinites – the same
for 2000.
The current Jot-um
Down Store is the former bank and the 1938 High School is now used as a local
music venue.
Photographer's
Note
“I noticed the picturesque store
but there were no cars around or any indication that the place was open. But the
sign said open, so I walked up the porch, turned the knob and went inside.
There
sat the store’s 75-year old proprietress, a jewel of a lady, as you can see in
the photo. She was
sitting there, content, watching television. She told me that the store
had once been a bank (note the vault
door) as well as the town’s post office and a telephone exchange. In addition,
she told me that she and her husband had taken the place over in 1985. She said
it had been a big mess when they bought it and they had to do a lot of work cleaning
it up.
The store
was named after the location for the once-immensely popular Lum
and Abner radio program. Besides carrying the staples and necessities of rural
householding, they have added a kitchen and grill in the back corner of the store
where she cooks hamburgers to order.” - Gerald
Massey, July, 2010 |
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