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CHistory
History · Clio

Clio’s post office opened in 1874

More historic than 25% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Clio was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. Below: maps from 1969 on and the census since 1900.

1874first post office
0on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Rivers Langley; SaveRivers · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Clio began

When was Clio founded?

1874

The Clio post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Adkinson Head (1855), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 326 in 19002020 census: 1,220152 years

How historic is Clio?

C

More historic than 25% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Clio post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Clio’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Clio is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Clio’s overall grade.
Founding era1874, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19407.8% of homes (±4.4) · 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 25%
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 Clio’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 (±4.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

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 Clio’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 Clio are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 2,206 in 2000; 1,220 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Clio’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Clio’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
People over time

Clio, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,206

Peaked at 2,206 in 2000; 1,220 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

The story so far

Clio, in brief

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

Clio is a city in Barbour County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2020 census, Clio had a population of 1,220. It is the birthplace of former Alabama governor George Wallace, as well as Baseball Hall of Famer and former Atlanta Braves broadcaster Don Sutton.

Its first post office opened in 1874. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,399 to 1,220 (-13%).

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

Timeline

Clio, 1855 to 2000

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1855Post officeThe Adkinson Head post office opens
  3. 1874Post officeThe Adkinson Head post office closes
  4. 1874Post officeThe Clio post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1911Born hereElton B. Stephens is born here
  7. 1919Born hereGeorge Wallace is born here
  8. 1945Born hereDon Sutton is born here
  9. 1969On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 21st century
  11. 2000CensusPopulation peaks at 2,206
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.
Add from your album
On the map

Clio on the map, 1969 to 1981

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

Clio on the 1969 USGS mapClio on the 1981 USGS map1969Clio 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 Clio.

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Clio

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

See all →
George Wallace45th Governor of Alabama · b. 1919
Don SuttonAmerican baseball player · b. 1945
E
Elton B. StephensAmerican businessman and lawyer · b. 1911
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Clio’s post office has been open since 1874. Another post office, Adkinson Head, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Adkinson Head
1855–1874
Clio
1874–today
18501940today
1cemetery inside Clio
Saint Peter

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

Questions about Clio’s history

What year was Clio founded?

The Clio post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Clio rank for history?

Clio is more historic than 25% 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 Clio?

8% of Clio’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.4 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1984.

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 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.