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C+History
History · Boaz

Boaz’s post office opened in 1887, and 4 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 44% of U.S. towns · #85 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it

Most of Boaz was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. 4 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 9 buildings between them. Below: maps from 1929 on and the census since 1900.

1887first post office
4on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Boaz began

When was Boaz founded?

1887

The Boaz post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1897. Two smaller post offices, Upton (1888) and Mountainboro (1891), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 253 in 19002020 census: 10,107139 years

How historic is Boaz?

C+

More historic than 44% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Boaz post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1897.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Boaz’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Boaz is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #85 of 187 in Alabama. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Boaz’s overall grade.
Founding era1887, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19404.6% of homes (±2.2) · typical AL town 3.2% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register4 listings, 12 historic buildings, 11.1 per 10,000 residents · typical AL town 2.7 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 44%
NewerOlder
Alabama towns of 2,500+ (187)Ahead of 55%

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 Boaz’s 11.1 sits above most of its state (68% of Alabama towns have fewer) while its 12 historic buildings outnumber those of 77% 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 (±2.2 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1897 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

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 Boaz’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 Boaz are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Boaz, and 2 old place names are still on the map.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Boaz’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Boaz’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, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Boaz’s post office has been open since 1887. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Boaz
1887–today
Upton
1888–1895
Mountainboro
1891–1911
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
MountainboroSkyhaven Estates
Gone or out of use
Bethsaida Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Boaz
BethsaidaHillcrestOld

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

On the National Register

4 historic places in Boaz

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
12
each building in a district counts
first listed
1996
Thomas A. Snellgrove Homestead
Thomas A. Snellgrove HomesteadEdward Fenns Whitman HouseSnead Junior College Historic District, built 1898Julia Street Memorial United Methodist Church
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Neo-Classical Revival2
Greek Revival1
Craftsman1
Georgian Revival1
Colonial Revival1
Thomas A. Snellgrove HomesteadGreek Revival
Edward Fenns Whitman HouseCraftsman
Snead Junior College Historic DistrictGeorgian Revival · Built 1898
Julia Street Memorial United Methodist ChurchNeo-Classical Revival

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

The story

How Boaz came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Boaz.

Read it all →

First settled in the 1850s, the town of Boaz was officially founded November 11, 1878, by the Sparks family of Georgia. A post office has been in operation since 1887. The city was named after Boaz, from the Bible. It was incorporated in 1897.

Prior to World War II, Boaz hosted a primarily cotton-based economy, only diversifying to livestock and poultry with the pressures of boll weevil infestations and the Great Depression. After the war, Boaz developed a thriving automotive sales industry, which in many instances survives to this day.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Boaz, 1887 to 1974

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1887Post officeThe Boaz post office opens
  3. 1888Post officeThe Upton post office opens
  4. 1891Post officeThe Mountainboro post office opens
  5. 1895Post officeThe Upton post office closes
  6. 1898BuiltSnead Junior College Historic District is built
  7. 20th century
  8. 1911Post officeThe Mountainboro post office closes
  9. 1914Born hereJohn Q. Roberts is born here
  10. 1925Born hereRose Maddox is born here
  11. 1936On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 1963Born hereTim Hodge is born here
  13. 1974Born hereEddie Priest is born here
By decade

Boaz, decade by decade

Today7 recent
US431 North - Boaz City Limt Sign2019US431 North - Boaz City Limt SignAL179 South Sign2018AL179 South SignThomas Avenue, Boaz, Alabama Nov 2017 22017Thomas Avenue, Boaz, Alabama Nov 2017 2Thomas Avenue, Boaz, Alabama Nov 2017 12017Thomas Avenue, Boaz, Alabama Nov 2017 1Norton Building2014Norton BuildingBOAZ, ALABAMA2012BOAZ, ALABAMAALMap-doton-Boaz2004ALMap-doton-Boaz
On the map

Boaz on the map, 1936 to 1983

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

Boaz on the 1936 USGS mapBoaz on the 1958 USGS mapBoaz on the 1976 USGS mapBoaz on the 1983 USGS map1936Mountainboro 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 Boaz.

Every building

Boaz, building by building, 1929

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.

Boaz fire insurance map, 1929, sheet 31929Sheet 3 of 98
BrickWoodStone

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

People over time

Boaz, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,000190019201940196019802000202010,107

Grew from 253 people in 1900 to 10,107 in 2020, more than tenfold.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Boaz

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

See all →
R
Rose MaddoxAmerican musician · b. 1925
T
Tim HodgeAmerican actor · b. 1963
E
Eddie PriestBaseball player · b. 1974
J
John Q. RobertsUnited States Navy Navy Cross recipient · b. 1914
W
Wayne PetersonAmerican racing driver and team owner · b. 1938
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Sardis CityIts storyDAlbertville2 historic placesCNew UnionIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCarlisle-RockledgeIts storyC

Questions about Boaz’s history

What year was Boaz founded?

The Boaz post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1897.

How does Boaz rank for history?

Boaz is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #85 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 Boaz?

4 listings: 2 buildings and 2 historic districts, the Thomas A. Snellgrove Homestead and the Snead Junior College Historic District, with 9 contributing buildings. 12 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Boaz?

5% of Boaz’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1981.

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 (7), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.