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History · Eva

Eva’s post office opened in 1887

Most of Eva was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992.

1887first post office
0on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
1famous people
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Quick answers

How Eva began

When was Eva founded?

1887

The Eva post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Cowhead (1887), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 589139 years
Founding year: the first Eva post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Eva’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Eva are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
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The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Eva’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Eva came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Eva.

Read it all →

Originally called "Cowhead", the town began to be settled in 1820, just a year after Alabama achieved statehood. William J. Rook began a post office in Cowhead in 1883; however, it was closed a month later. According to local lore, at a community meeting, the town received its current name "Eva" in October 1883 at the suggestion of a local physician, Dr. Lewis Keller, who had just delivered a beautiful baby girl by that name, Eva Brandon. He liked that name because like the girl, the town was just getting started. After discussion, the community agreed upon the name Eva because the town needed a new name as a prerequisite for establishing a new post office. It was not until 1887 that the town's name was officially changed from Cowhead.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Eva, 1887 to 1955

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1887Post officeThe Cowhead post office opens
  3. 1887Post officeThe Cowhead post office closes
  4. 1887Post officeThe Eva post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1955Born hereSusan Parker is born here
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Eva’s post office has been open since 1887. Another post office, Cowhead, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Cowhead
1887–1887
Eva
1887–today
18801950today
1cemetery inside Eva
Eva

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Eva’s history

What year was Eva founded?

The Eva post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

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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 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.