Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Cullman

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
BHistory
History · Cullman

Cullman’s post office opened in 1873, and 6 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 58% of U.S. towns · #54 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it

Most of Cullman was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. 6 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 129 buildings between them. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1880.

1873first post office
6on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
17famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Cullman’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Cullman began

When was Cullman founded?

1873

The Cullman post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 426 in 18802020 census: 18,213153 years

How historic is Cullman?

B

More historic than 58% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Cullman’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cullman is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns, #54 of 187 in Alabama. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cullman’s overall grade.
Founding era1873, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19408.4% of homes (±2.4) · typical AL town 3.2% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register6 listings, 133 historic buildings, 68.8 per 10,000 residents · typical AL town 2.7 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 58%
NewerOlder
Alabama towns of 2,500+ (187)Ahead of 72%

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 Cullman’s 68.8 sits above most of its state (78% of Alabama towns have fewer) while its 133 historic buildings outnumber those of 91% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share (±2.4 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 Cullman’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Cullman Historic District takes in 79 historic buildings.Mapped building by building7 fire insurance maps, 1888 to 1926, drew every building in Cullman.Lost villages7 hamlets and corners are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cullman’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cullman’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

6 listings protect 133 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
6
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
133
each building in a district counts
first listed
1976
Louisville and Nashville Railroad Depot
Louisville and Nashville Railroad DepotStiefelmeyer'sAve Maria GrottoCullman Historic DistrictCullman Downtown Commercial Historic DistrictErnest Edward Greene House
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Eastlake2
Colonial Revival2
Spanish Colonial Revival1
Italianate Revival1
Queen Anne1
High Victorian Italianate1
Louisville and Nashville Railroad DepotSpanish Colonial Revival
Stiefelmeyer'sItalianate Revival
Ave Maria GrottoDistrict
Cullman Historic DistrictQueen Anne
Cullman Downtown Commercial Historic DistrictGothic
Ernest Edward Greene HouseNeoclassical

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

Every building

Cullman, building by building, 1888–1926

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 year, then a sheet.

Cullman fire insurance map, 1888, sheet 11888Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

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

The story

How Cullman came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Cullman.

Read it all →

Before the arrival of American settlers, the area that today includes Cullman was originally in the territory of the Cherokee Nation. The region was traversed by a trail known as the Black Warrior's Path, which led from the Tennessee River near the present location of Florence, Alabama, to a point on the Black Warrior River south of Cullman. This trail figured significantly in Cherokee history, and it featured prominently in the American Indian Wars prior to the establishment of the state of Alabama and the relocation of several American Indian tribes, including the Creek people westward along the Trail of Tears. During the Creek War in 1813, General Andrew Jackson of the U.S. Army dispatched a contingent of troops down the trail, one of which included the frontiersman Davy Crockett.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Cullman, 1873 to 1981

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873Post officeThe Cullman post office opens
  3. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alabama - Cullman County - Cullman - ED 22-1, ED …
  4. 20th century
  5. 1921Born hereHerndon Glenn Dowling, Jr. is born here
  6. 1957On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1964Born hereTodd Williamson is born here
  8. 1980Born hereChanning Tatum is born here
  9. 1981Born hereHolly Williams is born here
By decade

Cullman, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s4 items
1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alabama - Cullman County - Cullman - ED 22-1, ED 22-2, ED 22-318801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alabama - Cul…1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alabama - Cullman County - Cullman - ED 22-1, ED 22-2, ED 22-318801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alabama - Cul…1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alabama - Cullman County - Cullman - ED 22-1, ED 22-2, ED 22-318801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alabama - Cul…1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alabama - Cullman County - Cullman - ED AL 22-1 to 818801950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alabama - Cul…
1890s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today20 recent
Historic buildings2010Historic buildingsHistoric buildings2010Historic buildingsHistoric buildings in2010Historic buildings inHistoric buildings in2010Historic buildings inHistoric buildings in2010Historic buildings inHistoric buildings in2010Historic buildings inHistoric buildings in2010Historic buildings inHistoric buildings in2010Historic buildings inHistoric buildings in2010Historic buildings inHistoric buildings in2010Historic buildings inHistoric buildings in2010Historic buildings inHistoric buildings in2010Historic buildings inHistoric buildings in2010Historic buildings inHistoric buildings in2010Historic buildings inEconomy Inn historic sign in2010Economy Inn historic sign inEconomy Inn historic sign in2010Economy Inn historic sign inC.A Stiefelmeyer Clothing and Furnishing2010C.A Stiefelmeyer Clothing and FurnishingBenedictine Sisters of Sacred Heart Monastery2010Benedictine Sisters of Sacred Heart MonasteryALMap-doton-Cullman2004ALMap-doton-CullmanJohann "John" Godfried Cullmann2000Johann "John" Godfried Cullmann
On the map

Cullman on the map, 1957 to 1983

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

Cullman on the 1957 USGS mapCullman on the 1968 USGS mapCullman on the 1983 USGS map1957Cullman 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 Cullman.

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.

1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alabama - Cullman County - Cullman - ED 22-1, ED 22-2, ED 22-3
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alabama - Cullman County - Cullman - ED 22-1, ED 22-2, ED 22-3, 1880

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Cullman, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,0001880190019201940196019802000202018,213

Grew from 426 people in 1880 to 18,213 in 2020, more than tenfold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

17 famous people were born in Cullman

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

See all →
Channing TatumAmerican actor, dancer and model · b. 1980
Holly WilliamsAmerican singer-songwriter · b. 1981
Todd WilliamsonAmerican painter · b. 1964
Herndon Glenn Dowling, Jr.U.S. herpetologist · b. 1921
L
Larry WillinghamAmerican football player · b. 1948
Wesley BrittPlayer of American football · b. 1981
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Cullman’s post office has been open since 1873.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Carrol AcresNorthwoodPhelanPine HillSmithdaleSouthern PinesTerrace Heights
Gone or out of use
Cullman Public Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Cullman
Cullman CitySacred HeartSaint Bernard Abbey

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.

East PointIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGood HopeIts storyD−

Questions about Cullman’s history

What year was Cullman founded?

The Cullman post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Cullman rank for history?

Cullman is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns, #54 of 187 in Alabama. 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.

What is on the National Register in Cullman?

6 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Depot (listed 1976, the first), and 3 historic districts, the Ave Maria Grotto, the Cullman Historic District and the Cullman Downtown Commercial Historic District, with 129 contributing buildings. 133 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Cullman?

8% of Cullman’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1976.

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 (22), the Library of Congress (2), the National Register of Historic Places (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.