[9] The first postmaster was May's wife, Mary Frances May, and the post office was run from May's home until it moved with the establishment of the town.

[5] The name "Dlo" was chosen by the contract postal rider on the Brandon-Westville mail route after the initial choice, "Millhaven", was rejected by the Post Office Department.

Just as the Strong River got its name from a translation of a Choctaw word describing the strong taste of the river water – which has a large amount of tannic acid dissolved in it – "Dlo" derives from a French phrase meaning "Bitter Undrinkable Water", which appears on an early map of the area.

During the peak of the Finkbine's sawmill plant operation, between 1916 and 1930, Millhaven was recognized as the largest town between Jackson and Hattiesburg.

It had two large YMCA buildings, a movie theater, ten grocery stores, a furniture store, three appliance dealers, ten gas stations, seven butcher's markets, a dry cleaner, five cafes, three auto shops, a boat building and cabinet shop, a machine shop, three pharmacies, a bank, lighted basketball courts, professional basketball and baseball teams, and a newspaper called The D'Lo Herald.

[citation needed] The town also had Baptist and Methodist churches, and a three-story brick school with 550 students and 17 teachers.

[11] With the Finkbine sawmill closed, D'Lo lost jobs and suffered a major decline in population.

With the construction of U.S. Route 49 through the town, Lumber companies could reach second-growth of timber in the surrounding areas.

A new hardwood sawmill reportedly supplied timber to firms that built weapons and equipment for World War II.

Although the mill was effective at keeping the town going for many years, it was never a large enough operation to recoup the huge loss of population.

So many citizens served in the war that the town's story was featured in the July 6, 1942, edition of Life magazine.

A monument located at the town's community center lists the D'Lo citizens who served during the war.

Purportedly the US Postal Service provided the village with a list of alternative four-letter names for the residents to choose from.