Lyle is recorded as one of the oldest towns in Mower County. First permanent settlement in Lyle which, was then yet unnamed was made in May, 1854, by Orlando Wilder, Eben Merry, John Tift, Wm. Bean, James Foster and his son, Return Foster. Wilder was a native of Vermont. Coming with him were Wm. Bean, step father of his wife, also his brother, Jackson Wilder, and Lewis West. They drove ten yoke of oxen and brought a small amount of household goods, arriving May 6, 1854. They immediately made a claim in section 33 and constructed a bark covered log house. Bean also took a claim in section 33. Others of the party fenced 65 acres of land across the line in Iowa and planted corn, potatoes, and garden vegetables. In the fall of 1854, Wilder went to McGregor, a distance of 120 miles to meet his wife, who returned with him. He had replaced his original house with a frame house where they were still living in 1894. Most of the settlers who came in 1855 and 1856 stayed only a short time.