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C−History
History · Fort Deposit

Fort Deposit’s post office opened in 1855

More historic than 21% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Fort Deposit was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1994. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1971 on, and the census since 1880.

1855first post office
0on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Rivers Langley; SaveRivers · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Fort Deposit began

When was Fort Deposit founded?

1855

The Fort Deposit post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 350 in 18802020 census: 1,225171 years

How historic is Fort Deposit?

C−

More historic than 21% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Fort Deposit post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Fort Deposit’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fort Deposit is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Fort Deposit’s overall grade.
Founding era1855, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19404.5% of homes (±4.7) · typical AL town 3.2% · U.S. 8.4%CNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical AL town 2.7 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 21%
NewerOlder

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 Fort Deposit’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 still be C−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.7 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 Fort Deposit’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Fort Deposit’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Fort Deposit, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Fort Deposit yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Fort Deposit is a town in Lowndes County, Alabama, United States. Since 1890, it has been the largest town in Lowndes County. As of the 2020 census, Fort Deposit had a population of 1,225. It is part of the Montgomery Metropolitan Statistical Area. This town is named after a fort that was built under the order of General Andrew Jackson. This was a supply fort that was built to serve the soldiers during the Creek Indian War. There is an annual arts and crafts fair called Calico Fort on the second weekend of April every year. It was incorporated on February 13, 1891. It reportedly sits on the highest point of land between Montgomery and New Orleans, Louisiana.

Its first post office opened in 1855. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,344 to 1,225 (-9%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Fort Deposit, 1814 to 1971

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1814In the archiveFort Hampton map
  3. 1855Post officeThe Fort Deposit post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1920Born hereMonk Gafford is born here
  6. 1941Born hereRichard Williamson is born here
  7. 1971On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Fort Deposit, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1810s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1810s2 items
Fort Hampton map1814Fort Hampton mapMapUntitled photo1815Untitled photoDocument
Today16 recent
Historic buildings2010Historic buildingsHistoric buildings2010Historic buildingsHistoric buildings2010Historic buildingsHistoric buildings2010Historic buildingsHistoric buildings2010Historic buildingsHistoric buildings2010Historic buildingsHistoric buildings2010Historic buildingsHistoric buildings in2010Historic buildings inHistoric buildings in2010Historic buildings inHistoric buildings in2010Historic buildings inHistoric buildings in2010Historic buildings inHistoric buildings in2010Historic buildings inHistoric buildings in2010Historic buildings inHistoric buildings in2010Historic buildings inHistoric buildings in2010Historic buildings inHistoric buildings in2010Historic buildings in
On the map

Fort Deposit on the map, 1971 to 1986

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

Fort Deposit on the 1971 USGS mapFort Deposit on the 1986 USGS map1971Fort Deposit sheet · 1:24,000

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

People over time

Fort Deposit, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,60018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,519

Between 350 and 1,519 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Fort Deposit

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

See all →
R
Richard WilliamsonAmerican football player and coach · b. 1941
Monk GaffordAmerican football player · b. 1920
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Fort Deposit’s post office has been open since 1855.

Gone or out of use
Fort Deposit Primitive Baptist ChurchchurchHoneycutt Instituteschool
1cemetery inside Fort Deposit
Myrtlewood

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

Questions about Fort Deposit’s history

What year was Fort Deposit founded?

The Fort Deposit post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Fort Deposit rank for history?

Fort Deposit is more historic than 21% 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 Fort Deposit?

5% of Fort Deposit’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.7 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1994.

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 (11), the Library of Congress (7), 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.