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CHistory
History · Cordova

Cordova’s post office opened in 1885, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 31% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1930 on, and the census since 1900.

1885first post office
0on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Cordova’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Cordova began

When was Cordova founded?

1885

The Cordova post office opened in 1885, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Dent (1880), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 567 in 19002020 census: 1,728141 years

How historic is Cordova?

C

More historic than 31% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Cordova’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cordova is more historic than 31% 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 Cordova’s overall grade.
Founding era1885, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194012.4% of homes (±5.7) · typical AL town 3.2% · U.S. 8.4%B−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 31%
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 Cordova’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 (±5.7 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 Cordova’s past

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

Boom and bustPeaked at 3,184 in 1960; 1,728 people lived here in 2020.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Cordova, and 3 old place names are still on the map.A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers, 1910–1993.
★ What stands out · People over time

Cordova, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 3,184

Peaked at 3,184 in 1960; 1,728 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Cordova’s post office has been open since 1885. Another post office, Dent, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Dent
1880–1885
Cordova
1885–today
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
CorinthGobblers CrossingRuby
Gone or out of use
Beards MinemineBroom MinemineDepotlocaleDisney Drift MinemineLong Memorial Methodist Episcopal ChurchchurchOak Leaf MinemineSulphur Springs MinemineTaft Minemine
1cemetery inside Cordova
Mount Carmel

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

By decade

Cordova, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s8 items
A young doffer who has been working for two years in Indian Head Cotton Mills. LOC nclc.019641910A young doffer who has been working for two years in …Noon-hour Indian Head Cotton Mills. Some of the girls are much younger than these. LOC nclc.019631910Noon-hour Indian Head Cotton Mills. Some of the girls…A young doffer who has been working for two years in Indian Head Cotton Mills. Location: Cordova, Alabama1910A young doffer who has been working for two years in …Noon-hour Indian Head Cotton Mills. Some of the girls are much younger than these. Location: Cordova, Alabama1910Noon-hour Indian Head Cotton Mills. Some of the girls…One of the young workers in Indian Head Mills. Going to work at noon-hour. Location: Cordova, Alabama1910One of the young workers in Indian Head Mills. Going …Group of workers in Indian Head Mills. Youngest ones would not be photo'd. (See label 1839.) Location: Cordova, Alabama1910Group of workers in Indian Head Mills. Youngest ones …Group of workers in Indian Head Mills. Youngest ones would not be photo'd. (See label 1839.) Location: Cordova, Alabama1910Group of workers in Indian Head Mills. Youngest ones …Noon-hour, Indian Head Mills. All are workers. The very youngest refused to be photo'd. The Supt. seemed worried about …1910Noon-hour, Indian Head Mills. All are workers. The ve…
1930s–1990s4 items
EXTERIOR VIEW ALONG MAIN STREET - Main Street (Commercial Streetscapes)1933EXTERIOR VIEW ALONG MAIN STREET - Main Street (Commer…EXTERIOR VIEW, OBLIQUE PERSPECTIVE WITH ENTRANCE - Sardis Baptist Church, Sanders' Ferry, Wilson's Crossing, Warrior Ri…1933EXTERIOR VIEW, OBLIQUE PERSPECTIVE WITH ENTRANCE - Sa…EXTERIOR VIEW, LOOKING NORTHWEST, ALONG WARRIOR RIVER WITH DOCKS (LEFT) AND BARGES LOADED WITH COAL (RIGHT). - Alabama …1968EXTERIOR VIEW, LOOKING NORTHWEST, ALONG WARRIOR RIVER…Main Street Cordova Alabama Spring 1993, HAER AL-9441993Main Street Cordova Alabama Spring 1993, HAER AL-944
Today12 recent
Historic downtown2010Historic downtownHistoric downtown2010Historic downtownHistoric downtown2010Historic downtownHistoric downtown2010Historic downtownHistoric downtown2010Historic downtownHistoric downtown2010Historic downtownHistoric downtown2010Historic downtownHistoric downtown2010Historic downtownCamera thought to be owned by renowned photographer Frances Benjamin Johnston2010Camera thought to be owned by renowned photographer F…Camera thought to be owned by renowned photographer Frances Benjamin Johnston2010Camera thought to be owned by renowned photographer F…A clock that depicts African Americans and Booker T. Washington in a degrading light, found in a box of antiques linked…2010A clock that depicts African Americans and Booker T. …FEMA - 625 - Photograph by Dave Saville taken on 03-01-2000 in Alaska2000FEMA - 625 - Photograph by Dave Saville taken on 03-0…
The story

How Cordova came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Cordova.

Read it all →

Cordova was originally a settlement on the Mulberry Fork of the Black Warrior River called "Dent" or "Dent's Place." The city was dubbed "Cordova" by Captain Benjamin M. Long in 1859. He named the city after a city in Mexico where he was stationed during the Mexican–American War. Long himself opened a mercantile shop in the city and helped lure other industries into the city by providing the land necessary for their operations.

ChaptersPresent-day Cordova2011 tornadoes2012 Cordova rock burst

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Cordova, 1880 to 1993

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880Post officeThe Dent post office opens
  3. 1885Post officeThe Dent post office closes
  4. 1885Post officeThe Cordova post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1910In the archiveA young doffer who has been working for two years in Indian Head Cotton Mills. LOC nclc.0…
  7. 1933In the archiveEXTERIOR VIEW ALONG MAIN STREET - Main Street (Commercial Streetscapes)
  8. 1949Born hereJames S. Voss is born here
  9. 1949On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1950Born hereDoyle Alexander is born here
  11. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 3,184
  12. 1967Born hereJim O'Rear is born here
  13. 1968In the archiveEXTERIOR VIEW, LOOKING NORTHWEST, ALONG WARRIOR RIVER WITH DOCKS (LEFT) AND BARGES LOADED…
  14. 1993In the archiveMain Street Cordova Alabama Spring 1993, HAER AL-944
On the map

Cordova on the map, 1949 to 1983

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

Cordova on the 1949 USGS mapCordova on the 1951 USGS mapCordova on the 1975 USGS mapCordova on the 1983 USGS map1949Cordova 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 Cordova.

Every building

Cordova, building by building, 1930

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Cordova fire insurance map, 1930, sheet 11930Sheet 1 of 3
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

A young doffer who has been working for two years in Indian Head Cotton Mills. LOC nclc.01964
Retake this viewA young doffer who has been working for two years in Indian Head Cotton Mills. LOC nclc.01964, 1910

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

3 famous people were born in Cordova

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

See all →
James S. VossAmerican astronaut · b. 1949
Doyle AlexanderBaseball player · b. 1950
J
Jim O'RearAmerican actor and director · b. 1967
Help out

Finish Cordova’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
4 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewA young doffer who has been working for…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Cordova’s history

What year was Cordova founded?

The Cordova post office opened in 1885, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Cordova rank for history?

Cordova is more historic than 31% 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 Cordova?

12% of Cordova’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.7 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1968.

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 (18), the Library of Congress (6), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.