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B−History
History · Ashford

Ashford’s post office opened in 1890, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 54% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Ashford was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 29 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1970 on, and the census since 1900.

1890first post office
2on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Ashford’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Ashford began

When was Ashford founded?

1890

The Ashford post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 286 in 19002020 census: 2,246136 years

How historic is Ashford?

B−

More historic than 54% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Ashford’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ashford is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ashford’s overall grade.
Founding era1890, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19406.4% of homes (±2.6) · typical AL town 3.2% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register2 listings, 30 historic buildings, 123 per 10,000 residents · typical AL town 2.7 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 54%
NewerOlder

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 Ashford’s 123 sits above most of its state (85% of Alabama towns have fewer) while its 30 historic buildings outnumber those of 82% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share (±2.6 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 Ashford’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Ashford Commercial District takes in 29 historic buildings.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ashford’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewCotton warehouse. Ashford, Alabama: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

2 listings protect 30 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
30
each building in a district counts
first listed
1985
Alabama Midland Railway Depot
Alabama Midland Railway DepotAshford Commercial District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Victorian1
Stick Style1
Alabama Midland Railway DepotVictorian
All 2 listings
Ashford Commercial DistrictDistrict · listed 2025

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How Ashford came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Ashford.

Read it all →

In March 1888, the Alabama Midland Railway built a small depot of Victorian railroad architecture in Ashford to be a waystation along the Bainbridge-to-Montgomery route. The depot was the only building to survive the 1915 fire that destroyed the rest of the city. The original depot received additions at least twice—an enclosed warehouse and open loading dock were added to the east, followed by racially segregated passenger waiting rooms on the west side. The depot faced two sidings that served for loading turpentine from the Adams Company still one block away, and pulpwood. Cotton bales, fertilizer, and a single sweet potato crop were loaded from both sidings.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Ashford, 1890 to 1970

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1890Post officeThe Ashford post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1939In the archiveCotton warehouse. Ashford, Alabama
  5. 1967Born hereRobert Stewart is born here
  6. 1970On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Ashford, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s2 items
Cotton warehouse. Ashford, Alabama1939Cotton warehouse. Ashford, AlabamaCotton warehouse. Ashford, Alabama1939Cotton warehouse. Ashford, Alabama
1940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today21 recent
Frank Larkin Park2026Frank Larkin ParkCSX Barfield Street crossing in2026CSX Barfield Street crossing inCSX 8th Avenue crossing in2026CSX 8th Avenue crossing inCSX 10th Avenue crossing in2026CSX 10th Avenue crossing inBarfield Cemetery2026Barfield CemeteryUntitled photo2025Untitled photoMain at Broadway in2025Main at Broadway inInca doves in2025Inca doves inCooper's hawk in2025Cooper's hawk inChurch at 6th in2025Church at 6th inCSX Midland Street Extension crossing in2025CSX Midland Street Extension crossing inCSX 1st Avenue crossing in2025CSX 1st Avenue crossing inUntitled photo2025Untitled photoUntitled photo2025Untitled photoBaltimore oriole and chipping sparrow in2025Baltimore oriole and chipping sparrow inAshford City Cemetery2025Ashford City CemeteryRufous hummingbird in2021Rufous hummingbird inPurple finch and painted bunting in2021Purple finch and painted bunting inPainted bunting and chipping sparrow in2021Painted bunting and chipping sparrow inBullock's oriole and Baltimore oriole in2021Bullock's oriole and Baltimore oriole inBaltimore oriole (male) in2019Baltimore oriole (male) in
On the map

Ashford on the map, 1970 to 1981

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

Ashford on the 1970 USGS mapAshford on the 1981 USGS map1970Ashford sheet · 1:24,000

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

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.

Cotton warehouse. Ashford, Alabama
Retake this viewCotton warehouse. Ashford, Alabama, 1939

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Ashford, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,50019001920194019601980200020202,246

Grew from 286 people in 1900 to 2,246 in 2020, 7 times over.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Ashford’s post office has been open since 1890.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Rainbow Mobile Home Park
1cemetery inside Ashford
Ashford City

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

Questions about Ashford’s history

What year was Ashford founded?

The Ashford post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Ashford rank for history?

Ashford is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns. 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.

What is on the National Register in Ashford?

Two places: the Alabama Midland Railway Depot (listed 1985) and the Ashford Commercial District (2025).

How old are the homes in Ashford?

6% of Ashford’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.6 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1985.

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 (21), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.