Auburn dates to 1836, and 11 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 60% of U.S. towns · #50 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it
Most of Auburn was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2001. 11 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 63 buildings between them. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1897 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1837.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Auburn’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Auburn is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #50 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 Auburn’s overall grade.
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 Auburn’s 9.1 sits above most of its state (66% of Alabama towns have fewer) while its 73 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 A−. The pre-1940 share (±0.5 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1836.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Auburn’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Auburn Public SchoolschoolGold Hill Post Officepost officeLee County High SchoolschoolMitchell SchoolschoolMount Moriah SchoolschoolPresbyterian Church Number OnechurchRidge Schoolschool
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Auburn, building by building, 1897–1928
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 year, then a sheet.
Inhabited in antiquity by the Creek, the land on which Auburn sits was opened to settlement in 1832 with the Treaty of Cusseta. The first settlers arrived in the winter of 1836 from Harris County, Georgia. These settlers, led by Judge John J. Harper, intended to build a town that would be the religious and educational center for the area. War soon broke out between treaty violators and the Creeks, which led to the Creeks being forcefully moved towards Oklahoma.
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.
In 1836, according to Wikidata. Auburn’s post office opened in 1837, and the census of 1870 counted 1,018 people here.
How does Auburn rank for history?
Auburn is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #50 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 Auburn?
11 listings: 7 buildings, among them the Noble Hall (listed 1972, the first), 2 historic districts, the Auburn University Historic District and the Old Main and Church Street Historic District, with 63 contributing buildings, and 2 sites. 73 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Auburn?
1% of Auburn’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 2001.
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 (12), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (11), 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.
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