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C−History
History · Crossville

Crossville’s post office opened in 1869

More historic than 20% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Crossville was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: maps from 1936 on and the census since 1930.

1869first post office
0on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Crossville began

When was Crossville founded?

1869

The Crossville post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Sand Mountain (1850), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 316 in 19302020 census: 1,830157 years

How historic is Crossville?

C−

More historic than 20% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Crossville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Crossville is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Crossville’s overall grade.
Founding era1869, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19404.0% of homes (±2.8) · typical AL town 3.2% · U.S. 8.4%CNational 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 20%
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 Crossville’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 still be C−. The pre-1940 share (±2.8 points) is firm at this size. 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 Crossville’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 Crossville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Crossville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Crossville’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
The story

How Crossville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Crossville.

Read it all →

Crossville is a farming community in northeast Alabama, situated on the sandstone plateau of Sand Mountain. The native peoples called the plateau Raccoon Mountain. It holds some historical significance for having figured tangentially in the Creek War.. The area's soil, game, climate, and proximity to streams proved attractive to settlers, the majority of whom were drawn there from neighboring states following the expulsion of the indigenous Creeks..

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Crossville, 1850 to 1936

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850Post officeThe Sand Mountain post office opens
  3. 1869Post officeThe Crossville post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1901Post officeThe Sand Mountain post office closes
  6. 1936On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Crossville, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Crossville-water-tower-al2019Crossville-water-tower-alCrossville-Town-Hall-al2019Crossville-Town-Hall-alCrossville-Steel-Inc-al2019Crossville-Steel-Inc-alAL68 West AL227 South Sign2015AL68 West AL227 South SignAL227 South at AL682015AL227 South at AL68
On the map

Crossville on the map, 1936 to 1949

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

Crossville on the 1936 USGS mapCrossville on the 1949 USGS map1936Crossville 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 Crossville.

People over time

Crossville, census by census

05001,0001,5002,00019401960198020002020Peak: 1,862

Between 316 and 1,862 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Crossville

Nobody well known was born in Crossville itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Y
YelawolfAmerican rapper · b. 1979
Beth GrantAmerican actress · b. 1949
Roy MooreAmerican jurist and politician · b. 1947
M
Mathew KnowlesAmerican music executive, businessman, record p… · b. 1952
Angela LittleAmerican actress · b. 1972
C
Charles Clyde EbbetsAmerican photographer · b. 1905
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Crossville’s post office has been open since 1869. Another post office, Sand Mountain, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Sand Mountain
1850–1901
Crossville
1869–today
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Lathamville
1cemetery inside Crossville
Union Grove Church

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

Questions about Crossville’s history

What year was Crossville founded?

The Crossville post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Crossville rank for history?

Crossville is more historic than 20% 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 Crossville?

4% of Crossville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.8 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1977.

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 (5), Wikipedia, 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.