Elba’s post office opened in 1851, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 42% of U.S. towns · #90 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it
Most of Elba was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1972. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 1 buildings. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1903 on, and the census since 1880.
The Elba post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Bridgeville (1840) and Bentonville (1850), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 222 in 18802020 census: 3,508175 years
How historic is Elba?
C+
More historic than 42% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Elba post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Elba’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Elba is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns, #90 of 187 in Alabama. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Elba’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 Elba’s 5.8 sits near the middle of its state (61% of Alabama towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±4.9 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 Elba’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The town which eventually became Elba originated near a ferry across the Pea River in the early 1830s. Originally called Bridgeville, a U.S. post office was established in the town by 1841. In 1851, a lottery to determine a new name for the town was held. One citizen had been reading a biography of Napoleon Bonaparte, and his suggestion of "Elba" as its name was the winner when it was drawn from a hat before any of the other suggestions. Elba became the county seat of Coffee County in 1852.
The Elba post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Elba rank for history?
Elba is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns, #90 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 Elba?
Two places: the Coffee County Courthouse (listed 1973) and the Pea River Power Company Hydroelectric Facility (1984).
How old are the homes in Elba?
7% of Elba’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.9 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1972.
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), the Library of Congress (7), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.
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