Gadsden dates to 1825, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 78% of U.S. towns · #21 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it
13 places in town are on the National Register, among them five historic districts with 161 buildings between them. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1836.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Gadsden’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Gadsden is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #21 of 187 in Alabama. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Gadsden’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 Gadsden’s 50.9 sits above most of its state (76% of Alabama towns have fewer) while its 170 historic buildings outnumber those of 92% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±1.4 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1825.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Gadsden’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Gadsden’s post office has been open since 1846. Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Double Springs
1836–1846
Gadsden
1846–today
Masingale
1880–1884
Alabama City
1891–1957
East Gadsden
1891–1905
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AgricolaAlabama CityBellevueBlack Creek FallsBurns ParkClubview HeightsEast GadsdenGoodyearMasingaleMonte VistaNorthsidePull TightScenic HeightsSouth GadsdenThe HighlandsTuckahoe HeightsWalnut Park
Gone or out of use
Alabama City Public SchoolschoolEleventh Street Public SchoolschoolEmma Sansom High SchoolschoolEtowah Avenue SchoolschoolGadsden AcademyschoolGadsden High SchoolschoolGadsden Ordnance PlantmilitaryHenry Street SchoolschoolLaffertys LandinglocaleLitchfield High SchoolschoolMasingale Post Officepost officeNo Saints Baptist ChurchchurchSecond Baptist ChurchchurchSlack AcademyschoolTriumph ChurchchurchUnion Baptist ChurchchurchWalkers LandinglocaleWalnut Street Hospitalhospital
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Gadsden, building by building, 1885–1930
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 first substantial European-American settlement in the area that developed as Gadsden was a village called "Double Springs". It was founded in about 1825 by John Riley, a mixed-race American Indian and European-American settler who built his house near two springs. Riley used his house for a stagecoach stop on the Huntsville-to-Rome route. The original building still stands as the oldest in Gadsden.
Passages that mention Gadsden, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Historical and statistical review and mailing and shipping guide of North Alabama (illustrated) embracing the cities of Birmingham, Anniston, Gadsden, Huntsville, Decatur, Tuscaloosa and Bessemer, with their manufacturing and mercantile industries ... and1888 · page 305Read the page →
Read the text
well known to all in and around Gadsden, is Secretary. This gentleman is cashier of the First National Bank of Gadsden. The above members of this Company are all well known as men of the highest standing and repute, and their immense business is the outgrowth of energy and
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Historical and statistical review and mailing and shipping guide of North Alabama (illustrated) embracing the cities of Birmingham, Anniston, Gadsden, Huntsville, Decatur, Tuscaloosa and Bessemer, with their manufacturing and mercantile industries ... and1888 · page 225Read the page →
Read the text
The contract for building the Tennessee & Coosa Valley Railroad was let May 25th, and work began at Huntsville June 1st. The road begins at Gadsden, Alabama, aiid runs to this city, eighty-five miles, crossing the Tennessee River at Guntersville. The contract requires that the road be completed by the 1st of October, 1888. Inside of ninety days the road will be built to the Tennessee River; Going south from Huntsville, this road connects with Gadsden, Anniston, Columbus (Georgia), and Brunswick, the acknowledged most superior harbor on the Atlantic seaboard. Huntsville thus obtains a
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Gadsden, 1825 to 1997
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born 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.
In 1825, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Gadsden’s post office opened in 1836, and the census of 1880 counted 1,697 people here.
How does Gadsden rank for history?
Gadsden is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #21 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 Gadsden?
13 listings: 7 buildings, among them the Alabama City Library (listed 1974, the first), 5 historic districts with 161 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 170 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Gadsden?
11% of Gadsden’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.4 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1959.
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 (17), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (13), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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