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B−History
History · Atmore

Atmore’s post office opened in 1895, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 53% of U.S. towns · #71 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it

Most of Atmore was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 72 buildings. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1927 on, and the census since 1910.

1895first post office
1on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
10famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Atmore’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Atmore began

When was Atmore founded?

1895

The Atmore post office opened in 1895, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1907. Another post office, William's Station (1871), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 1,060 in 19102020 census: 8,391131 years

How historic is Atmore?

B−

More historic than 53% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Atmore post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1907.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Atmore’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Atmore is more historic than 53% of U.S. towns, #71 of 187 in Alabama. 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 Atmore’s overall grade.
Founding era1895, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19405.8% of homes (±2.4) · typical AL town 3.2% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register1 listing, 72 historic buildings, 86.4 per 10,000 residents · typical AL town 2.7 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 53%
NewerOlder
Alabama towns of 2,500+ (187)Ahead of 62%

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 Atmore’s 86.4 sits above most of its state (80% of Alabama towns have fewer) while its 72 historic buildings outnumber those of 87% 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 (±2.4 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1907.

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 Atmore’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 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Atmore Commercial Historic District takes in 72 historic buildings.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Atmore, and 3 old place names are still on the map.Famous sons and daughtersEvander Holyfield, Paul Birch and 8 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Atmore’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Atmore’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 view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

1 listing protects 72 historic buildings

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
72
each building in a district counts
first listed
2021
Atmore Commercial Historic District
Atmore Commercial Historic District
Districts
All 1 listings
Atmore Commercial Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2021

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Atmore’s post office has been open since 1895. Another post office, William's Station, opened and closed inside today’s town.

William's Station
1871–1895
Atmore
1895–today
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Briar Lake EstatesRaley Forest HillSouthern Estates
1cemetery inside Atmore
Oak Hill

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

The story

How Atmore came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Atmore.

Read it all →

Atmore was first recorded as a stop called Williams Station on the Mobile and Great Northern Railroad. The town was originally to be named "Carney", in honor of a citizen who owned a sawmill in the town. Mr. Carney's brother had already established a town nearby with the same name, and Mr. Carney was allowed to name the town after his close friend C.P. Atmore, General Passenger Agent of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. Mr. Atmore never visited the town.

In 2008 the city of Atmore annexed Alabama Department of Corrections prison property, including Holman Correctional Facility and Fountain Correctional Facility. The Alabama DOC asked for the city to annex the land.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Atmore, 1871 to 1994

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871Post officeThe William's Station post office opens
  3. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alabama - Escambia County - Atmore - ED 27-17, ED…
  4. 1895Post officeThe William's Station post office closes
  5. 1895Post officeThe Atmore post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1912Born herePaul Birch is born here
  8. 1948Born hereBobby Brantley is born here
  9. 1958Born hereDon McNeal is born here
  10. 1962Born hereEvander Holyfield is born here
  11. 1986On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 1994In the archiveGulf Breeze near Atmore, April 11, 1994
By decade

Atmore, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s3 items
1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alabama - Escambia County - Atmore - ED 27-17, ED 27-1818801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alabama - Esc…1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alabama - Escambia County - Atmore - ED 27-17, ED 27-1818801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alabama - Esc…1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alabama - Escambia County - Atmore - ED AL 27-29 to 3518801950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alabama - Esc…
1890s–1980snothing 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
1990s1 item
Gulf Breeze near Atmore, April 11, 19941994Gulf Breeze near Atmore, April 11, 1994
Today14 recent
FEMA - 13851 - Photograph by Mark Wolfe taken on 07-12-2005 in Alabama2005FEMA - 13851 - Photograph by Mark Wolfe taken on 07-1…FEMA - 13850 - Photograph by Mark Wolfe taken on 07-12-2005 in Alabama2005FEMA - 13850 - Photograph by Mark Wolfe taken on 07-1…FEMA - 13849 - Photograph by Mark Wolfe taken on 07-12-2005 in Alabama2005FEMA - 13849 - Photograph by Mark Wolfe taken on 07-1…FEMA - 13848 - Photograph by Mark Wolfe taken on 07-12-2005 in Alabama2005FEMA - 13848 - Photograph by Mark Wolfe taken on 07-1…FEMA - 13847 - Photograph by Mark Wolfe taken on 07-12-2005 in Alabama2005FEMA - 13847 - Photograph by Mark Wolfe taken on 07-1…FEMA - 13845 - Photograph by Mark Wolfe taken on 07-12-2005 in Alabama2005FEMA - 13845 - Photograph by Mark Wolfe taken on 07-1…FEMA - 13844 - Photograph by Mark Wolfe taken on 07-12-2005 in Alabama2005FEMA - 13844 - Photograph by Mark Wolfe taken on 07-1…FEMA - 13841 - Photograph by Mark Wolfe taken on 07-12-2005 in Alabama2005FEMA - 13841 - Photograph by Mark Wolfe taken on 07-1…FEMA - 13840 - Photograph by Mark Wolfe taken on 07-12-2005 in Alabama2005FEMA - 13840 - Photograph by Mark Wolfe taken on 07-1…FEMA - 13839 - Photograph by Mark Wolfe taken on 07-12-2005 in Alabama2005FEMA - 13839 - Photograph by Mark Wolfe taken on 07-1…Hurricane Ivan Damage in2004Hurricane Ivan Damage inHurricane Ivan Damage in2004Hurricane Ivan Damage inFEMA - 11401 - Photograph by Jocelyn Augustino taken on 09-25-2004 in Alabama2004FEMA - 11401 - Photograph by Jocelyn Augustino taken …FEMA - 11270 - Photograph by Jocelyn Augustino taken on 09-25-2004 in Alabama2004FEMA - 11270 - Photograph by Jocelyn Augustino taken …
On the map

Atmore on the map in 1986

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Atmore.

Atmore on the 1986 USGS map1986Atmore 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 Atmore.

Every building

Atmore, building by building, 1927

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Atmore fire insurance map, 1927, sheet 11927Sheet 1 of 8
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alabama - Escambia County - Atmore - ED 27-17, ED 27-18
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alabama - Escambia County - Atmore - ED 27-17, ED 27-18, 1880

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Atmore, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 10,194

Between 1,060 and 10,194 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

10 famous people were born in Atmore

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

See all →
Evander HolyfieldAmerican boxer · b. 1962
Paul BirchAmerican actor · b. 1912
Bobby BrantleyAmerican politician · b. 1948
Don McNealPlayer of American football · b. 1958
L
Lyn StuartAmerican justice · b. 1955
Paul CrawfordAmerican musician · b. 1925

Questions about Atmore’s history

What year was Atmore founded?

The Atmore post office opened in 1895, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1907.

How does Atmore rank for history?

Atmore is more historic than 53% of U.S. towns, #71 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.

What is on the National Register in Atmore?

One place: the Atmore Commercial Historic District (listed 2021).

How old are the homes in Atmore?

6% of Atmore’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1977.

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 (18), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.