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History · Broomtown

Broomtown’s post office opened in 1860

Most of Broomtown was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1997. Below: maps from 1967 on.

1860first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Broomtown began, and where its name came from

When was Broomtown founded?

1860

The Broomtown post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 160166 years

How did Broomtown get its name?

Broomtown was named for Chief Broom (Broomstown) of the Cherokee Nation, whose people occupied the area from the late eighteenth century into the 1830s.

Founding year: the first Broomtown post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

What stands out about Broomtown’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 Broomtown are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Broomtown’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Broomtown, in brief

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

Broomtown is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Cherokee County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2020 census, Broomtown had a population of 160. It was named for Chief Broom (Broomstown) of the Cherokee Nation, whose people occupied the area from the late eighteenth century into the 1830s. The Cherokee had migrated southwest under pressure from European-American encroachment in Tennessee and North Carolina, before Indian Removal from the Southeast on the Trail of Tears to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River. Fort Likens, a fort used to house soldiers during the Cherokee removal, was located near Broomtown.

Its first post office opened in 1860. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 182 to 160 (-12%).

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

Timeline

Broomtown, 1860 to 1967

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1860Post officeThe Broomtown post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1905Post officeThe Broomtown post office closes
  5. 1967On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Broomtown on the map, 1967 to 1986

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

Broomtown on the 1967 USGS mapBroomtown on the 1986 USGS map1967Gaylesville 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 Broomtown.

Famous people

Famous people close to Broomtown

Nobody well known was born in Broomtown itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Butch WalkerAmerican musician and record producer · b. 1969
Arn AndersonAmerican professional wrestler, road agent and … · b. 1958
George Stephen MorrisonAmerican admiral · b. 1919
Philip OberAmerican stage, film and television actor · b. 1902
T
Thomas H. CookAmerican writer · b. 1947
Dan ReevesAmerican football player and coach · b. 1944
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Broomtown had its own post office from 1860 to 1905.

Broomtown
1860–1905
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Rhinehart
1cemetery inside Broomtown
Mount Zion

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

Questions about Broomtown’s history

What year was Broomtown founded?

The Broomtown post office opened in 1860, 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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.