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History · Courtland

Courtland’s post office opened in 1819, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 85 buildings. Below: maps from 1936 on and the census since 1880.

1819first post office
2on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Courtland began

When was Courtland founded?

1819

The Courtland post office opened in 1819, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 580 in 18802020 census: 583207 years
Founding year: the first Courtland post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Courtland’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 Courtland are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Courtland Historic District takes in 85 historic buildings.Boom and bustPeaked at 803 in 1990; 583 people lived here in 2020.Lost villages4 hamlets and corners are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Courtland’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Courtland’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
On the National Register

2 listings protect 86 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
86
each building in a district counts
first listed
1987
John McMahon House
John McMahon HouseCourtland Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Federal1
Bungalow/Craftsman1
Colonial Revival1
Modern Movement1
Minimal Traditional1
Massed Plan1
John McMahon HouseFederal
Courtland Historic DistrictBungalow/Craftsman

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

People over time

Courtland, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 803

Peaked at 803 in 1990; 583 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Courtland came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Courtland.

Read it all →

A small creek named Big Nance Creek runs through the town. The creek was named for a Cherokee chief who lived in the area when the first European settlers arrived. The current town is reportedly located on the site of the Native American village.

Courtland began as a small settlement known as Ebenezer in the early 1800s. Its early settlers were wealthy planters mostly from Virginia, Tennessee, the Carolinas and Georgia. It was presently named for the federal courthouse and land office there. In 1818, a group known as the Courtland Land Company bought the land on which the town is now situated and subdivided it into lots. The town was incorporated on December 13, 1819, by the Alabama territorial legislature

ChaptersCourtland Historic District

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Courtland, 1819 to 1990

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1819Post officeThe Courtland post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1915Born hereSam Agee is born here
  5. 1936On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1990CensusPopulation peaks at 803
By decade

Courtland, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Courtland-street-clock-al2017Courtland-street-clock-alCourtland-Town-Hall-al2017Courtland-Town-Hall-alCourtland-RR-tracks-al2017Courtland-RR-tracks-alCourtland-RR-historical-marker-al2017Courtland-RR-historical-marker-alCourtland-Public-Library-al2017Courtland-Public-Library-alCourtland-Alabama-Street-RR-crossing-al2017Courtland-Alabama-Street-RR-crossing-al
On the map

Courtland on the map, 1936 to 1974

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

Courtland on the 1936 USGS mapCourtland on the 1951 USGS mapCourtland on the 1974 USGS map1936Courtland 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 Courtland.

Places that used to be

Old corners and places now gone

Courtland’s post office has been open since 1819.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Courtland DownsNorth CourtlandRocky HillTerry Heights
Gone or out of use
Rocky Hill Schoolschool

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.

North CourtlandIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Courtland’s history

What year was Courtland founded?

The Courtland post office opened in 1819, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Courtland?

Two places: the John McMahon House (listed 1987) and the Courtland Historic District (1991).

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 (6), 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.