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History · Glen Allen

Glen Allen’s post office opened in 1876

Most of Glen Allen was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Below: maps from 1967 on and the census since 1960.

1876first post office
0on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
Quick answers

How Glen Allen began

When was Glen Allen founded?

1876

The Glen Allen post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 131 in 19602020 census: 433150 years
Founding year: the first Glen Allen post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Glen Allen’s past

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

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Glen Allen’s collection

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

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

Glen Allen, in brief

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

Glen Allen is a town located in Fayette and Marion counties in the U.S. state of Alabama. The town incorporated in May 1959. At the 2020 census, the population was 433, down from 510 at the 2010 census. Glen Allen is positioned along the BNSF railway and is near Interstate 22, providing access to multiple expanding industries.

Its first post office opened in 1876. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 510 to 433 (-15%).

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

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.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Glen Allen on the map, 1967 to 1983

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

Glen Allen on the 1967 USGS mapGlen Allen on the 1983 USGS map1967Glen Allen 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 Glen Allen.

People over time

Glen Allen, census by census

01002003004005001960198020002020Peak: 510

Between 131 and 510 people in every census since 1960.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Glen Allen

Nobody well known was born in Glen Allen itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Glen Allen’s post office has been open since 1876.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Bazemore
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Glen Allen
Glen AllenHubbertvillePiney GroveThorntonWhitehead

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Questions about Glen Allen’s history

What year was Glen Allen founded?

The Glen Allen post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From 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.