Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Carbon Hill

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
FEMA - 7162 - Photograph by Lara Shane taken on 11-14-2002 in AlabamaPhoto: Lara Shane · Public domain
C−History
History · Carbon Hill

Carbon Hill dates to 1886

More historic than 23% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Carbon Hill was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1967 on, and the census since 1890.

1886founded
0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Carbon Hill’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Carbon Hill began

When was Carbon Hill founded?

1886

Carbon Hill dates its founding to 1886 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 568 in 18902020 census: 1,769140 years

How historic is Carbon Hill?

C−

More historic than 23% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1888.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Carbon Hill’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Carbon Hill is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Carbon Hill’s overall grade.
Founding era1886, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19406.3% of homes (±5.2) · typical AL town 3.2% · U.S. 8.4%C+National RegisterNo listings counted · typical AL town 2.7 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 23%
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 Carbon Hill’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (26% of Alabama towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.2 points). Two sources give 1886.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Carbon Hill’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 2,666 in 1920; 1,769 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Carbon Hill’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 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
People over time

Carbon Hill, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,666

Peaked at 2,666 in 1920; 1,769 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

The story

How Carbon Hill came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Carbon Hill.

Read it all →

Carbon Hill, Alabama, was settled in 1886 because of coal mining and the railroad. A post office was established in 1887 with John T. Anderson as the first Postmaster. By 1888, the community had grown enough to support the Carbon Hill United Methodist Church.

The Galloway Coal Company was responsible for the early development of Carbon Hill. Col. Robert Galloway entered the coal and transfer business in 1863. On May 1, 1890, Galloway bought mines and property on Carbon Hill (as it was then called) from The Kansas City Coal and Coke Company for $130,000. Galloway turned the operation into a commercial success. Other mining companies set up operations after word spread of Galloway's success.

ChaptersMark Chambers controversies

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Carbon Hill, 1880 to 1967

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alabama - Walker County - Carbon Hill - ED 64-9, …
  3. 1886
    FoundingCarbon Hill is established
  4. 1888Post officeThe Carbon Hill post office opens
  5. 1896Born hereJoseph Sam Perry is born here
  6. 20th century
  7. 1904Born hereElmer Tutwiler is born here
  8. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 2,666
  9. 1967On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Carbon Hill, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s1 item
1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alabama - Walker County - Carbon Hill - ED 64-9, ED 64-1018801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alabama - Wal…
1890s–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
Today7 recent
Nauvoo Road - Carbon Hill - Alabama2016Nauvoo Road - Carbon Hill - AlabamaFEMA - 7168 - Photograph by Lara Shane taken on 11-14-2002 in Alabama2002FEMA - 7168 - Photograph by Lara Shane taken on 11-14…FEMA - 7167 - Photograph by Lara Shane taken on 11-14-2002 in Alabama2002FEMA - 7167 - Photograph by Lara Shane taken on 11-14…FEMA - 7166 - Photograph by Lara Shane taken on 11-14-2002 in Alabama2002FEMA - 7166 - Photograph by Lara Shane taken on 11-14…FEMA - 7165 - Photograph by Lara Shane taken on 11-14-2002 in Alabama2002FEMA - 7165 - Photograph by Lara Shane taken on 11-14…FEMA - 7163 - Photograph by Lara Shane taken on 11-14-2002 in Alabama2002FEMA - 7163 - Photograph by Lara Shane taken on 11-14…FEMA - 7162 - Photograph by Lara Shane taken on 11-14-2002 in Alabama2002FEMA - 7162 - Photograph by Lara Shane taken on 11-14…
On the map

Carbon Hill on the map, 1967 to 1983

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

Carbon Hill on the 1967 USGS mapCarbon Hill on the 1983 USGS map1967Carbon Hill 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 Carbon Hill.

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 - Walker County - Carbon Hill - ED 64-9, ED 64-10
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alabama - Walker County - Carbon Hill - ED 64-9, ED 64-10, 1880

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Carbon Hill

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

See all →
J
Joseph Sam PerryAmerican federal judge · b. 1896
E
Elmer TutwilerAmerican baseball player · b. 1904
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Carbon Hill’s post office has been open since 1888.

Gone or out of use
Bynum Drift MinemineCarbon Hill Grammar SchoolschoolCarbon Hill High SchoolschoolGalloway Mine Number ElevenmineGalloway Mine Number SixmineStandard MinemineThornberry Drift Minemine
1cemetery inside Carbon Hill
Pisgah

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

Questions about Carbon Hill’s history

What year was Carbon Hill founded?

In 1886, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Carbon Hill’s post office opened in 1888, and the census of 1890 counted 568 people here.

How does Carbon Hill rank for history?

Carbon Hill is more historic than 23% 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.

How old are the homes in Carbon Hill?

6% of Carbon Hill’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.2 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1973.

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 (8), 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.