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History · Ariton

Ariton’s post office opened in 1905

Most of Ariton was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1970.

1905first post office
0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
1famous people
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Quick answers

How Ariton began

When was Ariton founded?

1905

The Ariton post office opened in 1905, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Weed (1886) and Charlton (1891), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 662121 years
Founding year: the first Ariton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Ariton’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Ariton are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Ariton.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ariton’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Ariton’s post office has been open since 1905. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Weed
1886–1895
Charlton
1891–1901
Ariton
1905–today
18801950today
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Ariton
SammonUniversalist

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

The story so far

Ariton, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Ariton yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Ariton is a town in Dale County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 662. It was incorporated in April 1906. The name is a blend of its two predecessor town names: Ariosto and Charlton. Ariton is part of the Ozark Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1905. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 764 to 662 (-13%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Ariton, 1886 to 1926

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1886Post officeThe Weed post office opens
  3. 1891Post officeThe Charlton post office opens
  4. 1895Post officeThe Weed post office closes
  5. 20th century
  6. 1901Post officeThe Charlton post office closes
  7. 1905Post officeThe Ariton post office opens
  8. 1926Born hereBig Mama Thornton is born here
By decade

Ariton, decade by decade

Today1 recent
ALMap-doton-Ariton2004ALMap-doton-Ariton

Questions about Ariton’s history

What year was Ariton founded?

The Ariton post office opened in 1905, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.