Palabala

[1] It is mentioned in The River Congo from its mouth to Bólobó; with a general description of the natural history and anthropology of its western basin (1895) by Sir Harry Hamilton Johnston.

He described it as "on the crest of a great hill, 1600 feet high" and described a missionary presence with inhabitants greeting him with "morning".

Many Baptist missionaries were stationed there in the late 19th century.

[2] A plaque in the area commemorates the railway connecting Matadi to Stanley-Pool.

[4] Missionary Ezra Cole Boone died in Palabala.