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History · Colony

Colony was first counted by the census in 1990

Most of Colony was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Below: maps from 1951 on and the census since 1990.

1990first census
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
1famous people
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Quick answers

How Colony began

When was Colony founded?

1990

Colony first appears in the census in 1990.

First census: 298 in 19902020 census: 26436 years
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓

What stands out about Colony’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 Colony are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 385 in 2000; 264 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Colony’s collection

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

Colony, census by census

010020030040020002020Peak: 385

Peaked at 385 in 2000; 264 people lived here in 2020.

4 censuses, 1990–2020.

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

The story

How Colony came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Colony.

Read it all →

Colony most likely was originally established soon after the emancipation of enslaved people after the Civil War, during Reconstruction. It is believed that the original settlers of the town were most likely freed enslaved people from Baltimore, Alabama. It is the only African American community in Cullman County, which was founded in 1873, and was considered a safe haven for Black people at a time when other cities with white majorities were dangerous for Black people, and referred to as 'sundown' cities because after sundown Black people were in danger there. Those that originally settled there were given land as compensation for being slaves, with over 8,000 acres eventually cultivated as farm land.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Colony, 1951 to 2000

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1990Born hereTristan Purifoy is born here
  4. 21st century
  5. 2000CensusPopulation peaks at 385
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

Colony on the map, 1951 to 1975

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

Colony on the 1951 USGS mapColony on the 1975 USGS map1951Arkadelphia 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 Colony.

Places that used to be

Old corners

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
The Colony

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Colony’s history

What year was Colony founded?

The Colony post office opened in 1990, 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 →
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 Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.