History · Chickasaw

Chickasaw’s post office opened in 1927, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 48% of U.S. towns · #78 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it

Most of Chickasaw was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1963. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 425 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1941 on, and the census since 1950.

1927first post office

1on the National Register

7%homes built before 1940

2old photos & papers

1famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Chickasaw’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Chickasaw began

When was Chickasaw founded?

1927

The Chickasaw post office opened in 1927, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1946.

First census: 4,920 in 19502020 census: 6,45799 years

How historic is Chickasaw?

B⁻

More historic than 48% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: the first Chickasaw post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1946.The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Chickasaw’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Chickasaw is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #78 of 187 in Alabama. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B⁻

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Chickasaw’s overall grade.

Founding era1927, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsD Homes built before 19407.2% of homes (±2.6) · typical AL town 3.2% · U.S. 8.4%C⁺National Register1 listing, 425 historic buildings, 671 per 10,000 residents · typical AL town 2.7 · U.S. 2.4A⁺

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 48%

NewerOlder

Alabama towns of 2,500+ (187)Ahead of 59%

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 Chickasaw’s 671 sits above most of its state (98% of Alabama towns have fewer) while its 425 historic buildings outnumber those of 97% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to A−. The pre-1940 share (±2.6 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1946.

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 Chickasaw’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A historic districtThe Chickasaw Shipyard Village Historic District takes in 425 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 10,002 in 1960; 6,457 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Chickasaw’s homes were built before 1963.

★ What stands out · On the National Register

1 listing protects 425 historic buildings

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

place listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

425

each building in a district counts

first listed

2004

Chickasaw Shipyard Village Historic District

Districts

Architectural styles listings

Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals1

Colonial1

Tudor1

Spanish Revivals1

Late 19th and 20th Century American Movements1

Bungalow/Craftsman1

Chickasaw Shipyard Village Historic DistrictLate 19th and 20th Century Revivals

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

Help out

Start Chickasaw’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Retake an old view1950 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

People over time

Chickasaw, census by census

Peaked at 10,002 in 1960; 6,457 people lived here in 2020.

8 censuses, 1950–2020.

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

The story

How Chickasaw came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Chickasaw.

Read it all →

In the early 20th century before the city now standing was incorporated, the present site of Chickasaw was a company town, wholly owned by Chickasaw Shipyard and developed for its workers. The property was bought by Gulf Shipbuilding Corporation in 1940. It expanded with the defense buildup during World War II.

It attempted to restrict the activities of Jehovah's Witnesses, the subject of a case that reached the Supreme Court of the United States, Marsh v. Alabama, 326 U.S. 501 (1946). The court ruled that although the Chickasaw Shipyard Village was privately owned, because it functioned as a town open to the public, the right conferred on residents and visitors by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution cannot be abridged.

ChaptersCompany town

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Chickasaw, 1880 to 1990

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

19th century
1880In the archive1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alabama - Mobile County - Chickasaw - ED AL 49-10…
20th century
1927Post officeThe Chickasaw post office opens
1937Born hereRay Sawyer is born here
1941On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1943Post officeThe Chickasaw post office closes
1960CensusPopulation peaks at 10,002
1990In the archiveMobile River at Chickasaw Creek

By decade

Chickasaw, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s1 item

1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alabama - Mobile County - Chickasaw - ED AL 49-101 to 104, 49-111

18801950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alabama - Mob…

1890s–1980snothing 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

1990s1 item

c. 1990Mobile River at Chickasaw Creek

Today5 recent

2012ChickasawVillageHomes 0298

2012ChickasawVillageHomes 0297

2012ChickasawShipyard 0302

2012ChickasawRetail 0312

2004ALMap-doton-Chickasaw

On the map

Chickasaw on the map, 1941 to 1982

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

1941Chickasaw sheet · 1:31,680

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Chickasaw.

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.

Retake this view1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alabama - Mobile County - Chickasaw - ED AL 49-101 to 104, 49-111, 1880

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

Retake this view · +15

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Chickasaw had its own post office from 1927 to 1943.

Chickasaw

1927–1943

19201970today

Hamlets and corners on the map

Mauvilla Forest EstatesNorth MobileNorwood

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

SaralandIts storyD⁻Mobile115 historic placesA Prichard2 historic placesC⁺

Questions about Chickasaw’s history

What year was Chickasaw founded?

The Chickasaw post office opened in 1927, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1946.

How does Chickasaw rank for history?

Chickasaw is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #78 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 Chickasaw?

One place: the Chickasaw Shipyard Village Historic District (listed 2004).

How old are the homes in Chickasaw?

7% of Chickasaw’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.6 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1963.

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), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.

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