Settlement in the Ida area began before 1840, and increasing numbers arrived from the East after the Civil War by ox-drawn wagons or steamboat. The earliest permanent settlers included Readrick Kelly, Chesley Green Williams, the Munnerlyn brothers, and their families. Churches and schools were central to the pioneers, with the first established church, Munnerlyn Chapel, beginning in 1877 when Methodists met in a small log building constructed by the Munnerlyns. The first Baptist church and school was Bethsaida, established in 1883, and it served as the school until the town built a new building in 1905; that two-story building remained in use until 1928, when a large brick building was erected and served educational needs until school consolidation in mid century. Ida Methodists built a church in 1904 on land donated by the Means brothers, and that building still serves the congregation although its original bell tower has been removed. With the coming of the railroad and the establishment of a post office in 1897, the town began to grow, with stores opening to serve farmers, lumbermen, and sawmills in the area. Missionary plantation and other farms to the east in the Red River bottomland contributed much to the local economy. In 1909, Standard Oil Company built a pumping station in Ida to move oil from the Oklahoma fields to Baton Rouge refineries. After the discovery of the Rodessa Oil Field in the 1930's, Ida became a boomtown with a bank, stores, cafes, and a dancehall serving oilfield workers.