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A−History
History · Dadeville

Dadeville’s post office opened in 1837, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 79% of U.S. towns · #17 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it

Most of Dadeville was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 205 buildings. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1889 on, and the census since 1880.

1837first post office
1on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
8famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Dadeville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Dadeville began

When was Dadeville founded?

1837

The Dadeville post office opened in 1837, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 740 in 18802020 census: 3,084189 years

How historic is Dadeville?

A−

More historic than 79% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Dadeville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dadeville is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns, #17 of 187 in Alabama. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Dadeville’s overall grade.
Founding era1837, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19404.9% of homes (±3.8) · typical AL town 3.2% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register1 listing, 205 historic buildings, 685 per 10,000 residents · typical AL town 2.7 · U.S. 2.4A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 79%
NewerOlder
Alabama towns of 2,500+ (187)Ahead of 91%

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 Dadeville’s 685 sits above most of its state (99% of Alabama towns have fewer) while its 205 historic buildings outnumber those of 93% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.8 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 Dadeville’s past

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

A historic districtThe Dadeville Historic District takes in 205 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1889 to 1924, drew every building in Dadeville.Deep rootsA post office since 1837: 189 years of Dadeville.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

1 listing protects 205 historic buildings

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
205
each building in a district counts
first listed
2013
Dadeville Historic District
Dadeville Historic District
Districts
All 1 listings
Dadeville Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2013

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

Help out

Start Dadeville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo3 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewLane House, 311 West Columbus Street: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Dadeville, building by building, 1889–1924

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.

Dadeville fire insurance map, 1889, sheet 11889Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

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

The story

How Dadeville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Dadeville.

Read it all →

Prior to its incorporation, Dadeville was an Indian trading post and a center of commerce where commodities such as cotton, lumber, tin, asbestos, and livestock were traded. The town was surveyed by John H. Broadnax in 1836, granted a charter in 1837, and first incorporated in 1858. Dadeville was named for Major Francis Langhorne Dade, who was killed in 1835 by Seminole Indians in a battle of the Second Seminole War that came to be known as the "Dade Massacre". Dade had never actually visited Tallapoosa County.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Dadeville, 1837 to 1971

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1837Post officeThe Dadeville post office opens
  3. 1855Born hereCharles Allen Culberson is born here
  4. 1876Born hereLilius Bratton Rainey is born here
  5. 1877Born hereJ. Frank Norris is born here
  6. 1895Born hereThomas W. Herren is born here
  7. 20th century
  8. 1971On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Dadeville, decade by decade

Date unknown3 to date
Lane House, 311 West Columbus StreetDate?Lane House, 311 West Columbus StreetUnited States Hotel, North Broadnax & East Green StreetsDate?United States Hotel, North Broadnax & East Green Stre…William A. Gardner House, Lafayette Highway (County Road 75)Date?William A. Gardner House, Lafayette Highway (County R…
Today12 recent
Dadeville Tigers2024Dadeville TigersDadeville Memorial Garden2024Dadeville Memorial GardenCinematic Tallapoosa2024Cinematic TallapoosaGraefenbergMedicalInstitute2023GraefenbergMedicalInstituteDadevilleTown2020DadevilleTownCommercial Building2019Commercial BuildingCommercial Building 1152019Commercial Building 115Bank of2019Bank ofTornado - Dadeville, Ala. , June 20, 2011 -- The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers is working with contractors to remove de…2011Tornado - Dadeville, Ala. , June 20, 2011 -- The U. S…Johnson J Hooper Plaque2008Johnson J Hooper PlaqueDadeville Alabama2008Dadeville AlabamaALMap-doton-Dadeville2004ALMap-doton-Dadeville
On the map

Dadeville on the map in 1971

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Dadeville.

Dadeville on the 1971 USGS map1971Dadeville 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 Dadeville.

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.

Lane House, 311 West Columbus Street
Retake this viewLane House, 311 West Columbus Street

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Dadeville, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,50018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 3,276

Between 740 and 3,276 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

8 famous people were born in Dadeville

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

See all →
Charles Allen CulbersonAmerican politician · b. 1855
J. Frank NorrisAmerican Baptist clergyman · b. 1877
Lilius Bratton RaineyAmerican politician · b. 1876
Thomas W. HerrenUnited States Army officer, combat commander Wo… · b. 1895
A
Anfernee JenningsAmerican football outside linebacker · b. 1997
Kirk NewellAmerican sportsperson · b. 1890
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Dadeville’s post office has been open since 1837.

Hamlets and corners on the map
North Dadeville
Gone or out of use
Civilian Conservation Corps Camp Number 1405localeDadeville Grammar SchoolschoolTallapoosa County High Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Dadeville
ShepardUnion

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.

Jacksons' GapIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Dadeville’s history

What year was Dadeville founded?

The Dadeville post office opened in 1837, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Dadeville rank for history?

Dadeville is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns, #17 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 Dadeville?

One place: the Dadeville Historic District (listed 2013).

How old are the homes in Dadeville?

5% of Dadeville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.8 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 (12), the Library of Congress (3), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.