The Dora post office opened in 1905, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Sharon (1886) and Horse Creek (1888), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
2020 census: 2,297121 years
How historic is Dora?
C−
More historic than 20% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Dora post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Dora’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dora is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Dora’s overall grade.
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 Dora’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 D to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.2 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 Dora’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first settlers in the area now known as Dora were James. M. Davis, Ezekiel Morgan, and Cole Smith in the early 1830s. Later in the 1830s, homesteaders settled here. The Kansas City, Memphis and Birmingham Railroad laid a line through the settlement in 1886, and called their depot "Sharon". The Magella Coal Company and the Horse Creek Coal and Coke Company were founded, and by 1890, the area was called Horse Creek and incorporated as the town of Horse Creek in 1897. By 1900, several coal mines were located nearby. There was a school, churches, businesses and doctors. The name was changed to Dora in 1906. In 2023, Dora annexed a large tract of land that adjoined it to I-22 at exit 78, where developments are underway. This is the first time in its history that Dora has had direct interstate access. At the 2020 census the population was 2,297, up from 2,024 in 2010.
The Dora post office opened in 1905, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Dora rank for history?
Dora 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 Dora?
13% of Dora’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.2 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1973.
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 the Library of Congress (5), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
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