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–Not graded
History · Edgewater

31% of Edgewater’s homes were built before 1940

Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1904 on, and the census since 1950.

0on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Edgewater’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Edgewater’s past

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

On the map since 19044 editions of the USGS map, 1904 to 1993. Watch Edgewater change.Old housesHalf of Edgewater’s homes were built before 1954.
★ What stands out · On the map

Edgewater on the map, 1904 to 1993

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

Edgewater on the 1904 USGS mapEdgewater on the 1959 USGS mapEdgewater on the 1970 USGS mapEdgewater on the 1993 USGS map1904Birmingham Coal District sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Edgewater.

The story

How Edgewater came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Edgewater.

Read it all →

Edgewater was originally built as a company town by Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Edgewater, 1901 to 1993

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1901Born hereMule Suttles is born here
  3. 1904On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1993In the archiveOBLIQUE VIEW, TCI DOUBLE THREE-ROOM HOUSE WITH STEEL ROOF AND ORIGINAL HEDGING AND CURB A…
By decade

Edgewater, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1990s5 items
OBLIQUE VIEW, TCI DOUBLE THREE-ROOM HOUSE WITH STEEL ROOF AND ORIGINAL HEDGING AND CURB AND GUTTER ALONG ENGLAND AVENUE…1993OBLIQUE VIEW, TCI DOUBLE THREE-ROOM HOUSE WITH STEEL …OBLIQUE VIEW, TCI DOUBLE TWO-ROOM HOUSE WITH SIDE PORCHES AND STEEL ROOF - Edgewater Community, Off New Mulga Loop Road…1993OBLIQUE VIEW, TCI DOUBLE TWO-ROOM HOUSE WITH SIDE POR…OBLIQUE VIEW, TCI DOUBLE TWO-ROOM HOUSE WITH STEEL ROOF AND IONIC COLUMNED PORCH - Edgewater Community, Off New Mulga L…1993OBLIQUE VIEW, TCI DOUBLE TWO-ROOM HOUSE WITH STEEL RO…OBLIQUE VIEW, TCI TWO-ROOM HOUSE WITH MULTIPLE LATER ADDITIONS TO ORIGINAL COMPANY HOUSE - Edgewater Community, Off New…1993OBLIQUE VIEW, TCI TWO-ROOM HOUSE WITH MULTIPLE LATER …OBLIQUE VIEW, TCI TWO-ROOM HOUSE WITH STEEL ROOF AND ORIGINAL SIDING, FRONT PORCH, BRICK CHIMNEY, AND PIER FOUNDATIONS …1993OBLIQUE VIEW, TCI TWO-ROOM HOUSE WITH STEEL ROOF AND …
Date unknown1 to date
Tornado Damage BirminghamDate?Tornado Damage Birmingham
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.

Tornado Damage Birmingham
Retake this viewTornado Damage Birmingham

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Edgewater, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0001960198020002020Peak: 1,984

Between 730 and 1,984 people in every census since 1950.

4 censuses, 1950–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old corners and places now gone

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Edgewater Junction
Gone or out of use
Edgewater Schoolschool

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Edgewater’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewOBLIQUE VIEW, TCI DOUBLE THREE-ROOM HOU…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Birmingham147 historic placesA−Pleasant GroveIts storyDMcDonald ChapelIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Edgewater’s history

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), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.