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History · Carrollton

Carrollton’s post office opened in 1831, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

Most of Carrollton was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. Its Register listings are the Hugh Wilson Hill House and the Pickens County Courthouse. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1967 on, and the census since 1850.

1831first post office
2on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
6famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Carrollton’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Carrollton began

When was Carrollton founded?

1831

The Carrollton post office opened in 1831, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 394 in 18502020 census: 1,023195 years
Founding year: the first Carrollton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Carrollton’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsA post office since 1831: 195 years of Carrollton.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Carrollton’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewPickens County Courthouse 2: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Timeline

Carrollton, 1831 to 1998

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1831Post officeThe Carrollton post office opens
  3. 1840Born hereJohn H. Kelly is born here
  4. 1878BuiltPickens County Courthouse is built
  5. 1896Born hereHomer H. Norton is born here
  6. 20th century
  7. 1931Born hereHanley Funderburk is born here
  8. 1967On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1984Born hereCourtney Taylor is born here
  10. 1998In the archivePickens County Courthouse 2
The story

How Carrollton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Carrollton.

Read it all →

Incorporated in 1831, the town was named after Charles Carroll of Carrollton, Maryland, the only Roman Catholic and longest-living signer of the Declaration of Independence. A post office has been in operation at Carrollton since 1831.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Carrollton, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1990s1 item
Pickens County Courthouse 21998Pickens County Courthouse 2
Date unknown1 to date
Phoenix Hotel, Phoenix StreetDate?Phoenix Hotel, Phoenix Street
Today33 recent
Carollton EF2 damage22020Carollton EF2 damage2Carollton EF2 damage12020Carollton EF2 damage1AL86 West - AL17 Signs2018AL86 West - AL17 SignsAL17nRoad-AL86ewSigns2014AL17nRoad-AL86ewSignsHay bales dot the landscape of the 69.2 acre farm owned by Johnny and Chinita Hinton near Carrollton, Alabama2010Hay bales dot the landscape of the 69.2 acre farm own…Hay bales dot the landscape of the 69.2 acre farm owned by Johnny and Chinita Hinton near Carrollton, Alabama2010Hay bales dot the landscape of the 69.2 acre farm own…Hay bales dot the landscape of the 69.2 acre farm owned by Johnny and Chinita Hinton near Carrollton, Alabama2010Hay bales dot the landscape of the 69.2 acre farm own…Hay bales dot the landscape of the 69.2 acre farm owned by Johnny and Chinita Hinton near Carrollton, Alabama2010Hay bales dot the landscape of the 69.2 acre farm own…Confederate and Spanish American war monument at the historic courthouse on the square2010Confederate and Spanish American war monument at the …Confederate and Spanish American war monument at the historic courthouse on the square2010Confederate and Spanish American war monument at the …Confederate and Spanish American war monument at the historic courthouse on the square2010Confederate and Spanish American war monument at the …Confederate and Spanish American war monument at the historic courthouse on the square2010Confederate and Spanish American war monument at the …Confederate and Spanish American war monument at the historic courthouse on the square2010Confederate and Spanish American war monument at the …Vague image resembling face in window of Pickens County Courthouse2010Vague image resembling face in window of Pickens Coun…Historic First Presbyterian Church, established in 18392010Historic First Presbyterian Church, established in 18…Historic First Presbyterian Church, established in 18392010Historic First Presbyterian Church, established in 18…Historic City Hall in downtown Carrollton, Alabama2010Historic City Hall in downtown Carrollton, AlabamaJesus signs near Carrollton, Alabama2010Jesus signs near Carrollton, AlabamaLumber yard2010Lumber yardPickens County Courthouse2010Pickens County CourthousePickens County Courthouse2010Pickens County CourthouseDowntown historic Carrollton, Alabama2010Downtown historic Carrollton, AlabamaDowntown historic Carrollton, Alabama2010Downtown historic Carrollton, AlabamaVague image resembling face in window of Pickens County Courthouse2010Vague image resembling face in window of Pickens Coun…Pickens County Courthouse2010Pickens County CourthousePickens County Courthouse2010Pickens County CourthouseLumber yard in2010Lumber yard inJesus signs near2010Jesus signs nearHistoric First Presbyterian Church, established in 18392010Historic First Presbyterian Church, established in 18…Historic City Hall in downtown2010Historic City Hall in downtownDowntown historic2010Downtown historicDowntown historic2010Downtown historicConfederate and Spanish American war monument at the historic courthouse on the square in2010Confederate and Spanish American war monument at the …
On the map

Carrollton on the map, 1967 to 1985

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

Carrollton on the 1967 USGS mapCarrollton on the 1985 USGS map1967Carrollton 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 Carrollton.

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.

Phoenix Hotel, Phoenix Street
Retake this viewPhoenix Hotel, Phoenix Street

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Carrollton

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1989
Hugh Wilson Hill House
Hugh Wilson Hill HousePickens County Courthouse, built 1878
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
Italianate1
Hugh Wilson Hill HouseGreek Revival
Pickens County CourthouseItalianate · Built 1878

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

People over time

Carrollton, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001850190019502000Peak: 1,170

Between 278 and 1,170 people in every census since 1850.

15 censuses, 1850–2020.

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

Famous people

6 famous people were born in Carrollton

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

See all →
John H. KellyConfederate Army general (184_-1864) · b. 1840
C
Courtney TaylorAmerican football player · b. 1984
H
Homer H. NortonAmerican football, basketball, and baseball pla… · b. 1896
H
Hanley FunderburkAmerican academic · b. 1931
J
John Alton PhillipsAmerican politician · b. 1905
R
Robert Stafford CurryAmerican politician from Mississippi · b. 1862
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Carrollton’s post office has been open since 1831.

Gone or out of use
Carrollton Junior High SchoolschoolMastons Milllocale
1cemetery inside Carrollton
Carrollton

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

Questions about Carrollton’s history

What year was Carrollton founded?

The Carrollton post office opened in 1831, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Carrollton?

Two places: the Hugh Wilson Hill House (listed 1989) and the Pickens County Courthouse (1994).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (15), the Library of Congress (20), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.