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D−History
History · Alabaster

Alabaster’s post office opened in 1951

More historic than 3% of U.S. towns · #178 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it

Most of Alabaster was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1994. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1910 on, and the census since 1960.

1951first post office
0on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Alabaster’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Alabaster began

When was Alabaster founded?

1951

The Alabaster post office opened in 1951, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Lee's Cove (1849), Elliottsville (1860) and Siluria (1872), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 1,623 in 19602020 census: 33,28475 years

How historic is Alabaster?

D−

More historic than 3% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Alabaster post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Alabaster’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Alabaster is more historic than 3% of U.S. towns, #178 of 187 in Alabama. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Alabaster’s overall grade.
Founding era1951, from the first post office: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD−Homes built before 19401.3% of homes (±0.8) · typical AL town 3.2% · U.S. 8.4%DNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical AL town 2.7 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 3%
NewerOlder
Alabama towns of 2,500+ (187)Ahead of 5%

Alabama towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Alabama town has 2.7 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Alabaster’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (26% of Alabama towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±0.8 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Alabaster’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Alabaster, and 18 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19103 editions of the USGS map, 1910 to 1980. Watch Alabaster change.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Alabaster’s post office has been open since 1951. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Lee's Cove
1849–1854
Elliottsville
1860–1867
Siluria
1872–1972
Maylene
1892–today
Alabaster
1951–today
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Eaglewood EstatesElliotsvilleKingwoodLongviewMayleneMission HillsNavajo HillsNavajo PinesOld MaylenePort SouthScottrockScottsdaleSiluriaValley ForgeVerlieWillmayWillow GlenWoodland Hills
Gone or out of use
Lees Cove Post Officepost officeMaylene Elementary Schoolschool
10cemeteries and burying grounds inside Alabaster
BentonCedar GroveCedar GroveDavid LindsayGoodsonMayleneNaborsNelsonSiluriaStill Memorial

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Start Alabaster’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Alabaster’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewBuckcreek: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Alabaster on the map, 1910 to 1980

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Alabaster. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Alabaster on the 1910 USGS mapAlabaster on the 1975 USGS mapAlabaster on the 1980 USGS map1910Montevallo sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Alabaster.

The story

How Alabaster came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Alabaster.

Read it all →

George L. Scott Sr. owned and operated Alabaster Lime Co., which mined alabaster. His shipping point was known as “Scott Rock.” Later, worker housing was built to accommodate some of the mine employees. The community was named Alabaster after the "large body of high-calcium limestone upon which the town is located".

The First Bank of Alabaster opened in 1952, and its president was George L. Scott Jr., who later was elected as the first mayor of Alabaster. The first attempt in 1952 to incorporate Alabaster failed. In January 1953, the petition was again filed, and on February 23, 1953, Alabaster was officially incorporated, with a favorable vote of 79 to 23, and 427 residing inhabitants. In 1955, the Alabaster Water and Gas Board was formed.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Alabaster, 1849 to 2002

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1849Post officeThe Lee's Cove post office opens
  3. 1854Post officeThe Lee's Cove post office closes
  4. 1860Post officeThe Elliottsville post office opens
  5. 1867Post officeThe Elliottsville post office closes
  6. 1872Post officeThe Siluria post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1910On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1971Born hereApril Weaver is born here
  10. 1972Post officeThe Siluria post office closes
  11. 1993Born hereBrandon King is born here
  12. 1996Born hereDrew Avans is born here
  13. 21st century
  14. 2002Born hereChaney Johnson is born here
By decade

Alabaster, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
BuckcreekDate?Buckcreek
Today9 recent
Downtown Alabaster, Alabama March 16, 20232023Downtown Alabaster, Alabama March 16, 2023Alabaster Hwy 312022Alabaster Hwy 31AFDFT2020AFDFTUntitled photo2020Untitled photoUntitled photo2020Untitled photoAlabaster City Hall2016Alabaster City HallAlabaster, Alabama2012Alabaster, AlabamaAlabaster, Alabama City Hall2012Alabaster, Alabama City HallAlabaster, AL, main street, Dec 20082008Alabaster, AL, main street, Dec 2008
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Buckcreek
Retake this viewBuckcreek

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Alabaster’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Alabaster, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,000196019802000202033,284

Grew from 1,623 people in 1960 to 33,284 in 2020, more than tenfold.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Alabaster’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Alabaster

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
C
Chaney JohnsonAmerican basketball player · b. 2002
A
April WeaverAmerican politician · b. 1971
Brandon KingAmerican football player · b. 1993
D
Drew AvansAmerican baseball player · b. 1996
J
Joe HudsonAmerican racing driver · b. 1965
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

PelhamIts storyDCalera1 historic placeC+BrantleyvilleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHelena1 historic placeB

Questions about Alabaster’s history

What year was Alabaster founded?

The Alabaster post office opened in 1951, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Alabaster rank for history?

Alabaster is more historic than 3% of U.S. towns, #178 of 187 in Alabama. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Alabaster?

1% of Alabaster’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1994.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (10), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.