Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Foley

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
CHistory
History · Foley

Foley’s post office opened in 1905, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 28% of U.S. towns · #114 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it

Most of Foley was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2004. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 57 buildings. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1921 on, and the census since 1920.

1905first post office
1on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
6famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Foley’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Foley began

When was Foley founded?

1905

The Foley post office opened in 1905, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 243 in 19202020 census: 20,335121 years

How historic is Foley?

C

More historic than 28% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Foley’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Foley is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #114 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 Foley’s overall grade.
Founding era1905, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19402.3% of homes (±1.9) · typical AL town 3.2% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register1 listing, 57 historic buildings, 23.7 per 10,000 residents · typical AL town 2.7 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 28%
NewerOlder
Alabama towns of 2,500+ (187)Ahead of 39%

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 Foley’s 23.7 sits above most of its state (71% of Alabama towns have fewer) while its 57 historic buildings outnumber those of 86% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B−. The pre-1940 share (±1.9 points) is firm at this size. 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 Foley’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Foley Downtown Historic District takes in 57 historic buildings.Lost villages10 hamlets and corners are still on the map.On the map since 19213 editions of the USGS map, 1921 to 1980. Watch Foley change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Foley’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewDowntownFoley: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

1 listing protects 57 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
57
each building in a district counts
first listed
2012
Foley Downtown Historic District
Foley Downtown Historic District
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Commercial Industrial1
Renaissance Revival1
Foley Downtown Historic DistrictCommercial Industrial

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

Places that used to be

Old corners and places now gone

Foley’s post office has been open since 1905.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Blue Grass Recreational Vehicle ParkCedar Grove Mobile Home ParkDouglas Mobile Home ParkElijah Shoots Mobile Home ParkFoley Recreational Vehicle ParkHelens Mobile Home Park and Recreational Vehicle ParkJacks Trailer CourtMallard Point Trailer CourtPelican Mobile Home ParkWhispering Winds Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Foley Gas FieldoilfieldHolmes Memorial HospitalhospitalSouth Foley Gas FieldoilfieldStyron AirportairportWilson Fieldairport

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

The story

How Foley came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Foley.

Read it all →

Foley was named for its founder, John B. Foley of Chicago. As Foley was traveling to President William McKinley's funeral in 1901, he met a railroad agent who told him of the area in South Baldwin County. Foley came down the following year, and liked what he saw, buying between 40,000 acres (160 km2) and 50,000 acres (200 km2) of land. He then returned to Chicago and formed the Magnolia Springs Land Company, currently known as the Magnolia Land Company. As he began to sell off acreage, he realized the need for a better way for the people to come to Foley.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Foley, 1905 to 1989

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1905Post officeThe Foley post office opens
  3. 1910In the archiveDowntownFoley
  4. 1921On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1926Born hereEverett A. Kelly is born here
  6. 1945Born hereKen Stabler is born here
  7. 1988Born hereRobert Lester is born here
  8. 1989Born hereJulio Jones is born here
By decade

Foley, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s3 items
DowntownFoley1910DowntownFoleyFoley, Ala. views1910Foley, Ala. viewsL. & N. R.R. Station1910L. & N. R.R. Station
1920s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today3 recent
Lambert's Cafe2008Lambert's CafeLambertsCafeAlJul072007LambertsCafeAlJul07Foleywatertower2005Foleywatertower
On the map

Foley on the map, 1921 to 1980

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

Foley on the 1921 USGS mapFoley on the 1941 USGS mapFoley on the 1980 USGS map1921Bon Secour 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 Foley.

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.

DowntownFoley
Retake this viewDowntownFoley, 1910

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Foley, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00019201940196019802000202020,335

Grew from 243 people in 1920 to 20,335 in 2020, more than tenfold.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Famous people

6 famous people were born in Foley

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

See all →
Julio JonesAmerican football player · b. 1989
Ken StablerAmerican football player · b. 1945
Everett A. KellyAmerican politician · b. 1926
Robert LesterAmerican football defensive back · b. 1988
Justin AndersonAmerican football player · b. 1991
J
John SteinbacherAmerican author and investigative reporter · b. 1925
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Gulf Shores1 historic placeDSummerdaleIts storyDOrange BeachIts storyD−

Questions about Foley’s history

What year was Foley founded?

The Foley post office opened in 1905, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Foley rank for history?

Foley is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #114 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 Foley?

One place: the Foley Downtown Historic District (listed 2012).

How old are the homes in Foley?

2% of Foley’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.9 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 2004.

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 (4), the Library of Congress (2), 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) 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.