Hartselle dates to 1869, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 40% of U.S. towns · #96 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it
1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 61 buildings. Most of Hartselle was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Below: maps from 1917 on and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1872.
History grade
What drives Hartselle’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hartselle is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns, #96 of 187 in Alabama. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hartselle’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 Hartselle’s 38.5 sits above most of its state (74% of Alabama towns have fewer) while its 61 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 (±0.9 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1869.
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 Hartselle’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Hartselle yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Hartselle is the second largest city in Morgan County, Alabama, United States, 13 miles (21 km) south of Decatur. It is part of the Decatur Metropolitan Area and the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 15,455. Hartselle was founded in 1869 with the arrival of the South and North Alabama Railroad. It takes its name from George Hartsell, one of the railroad's owners. The post office opened in 1873. It was formally incorporated on March 1, 1875. Most of the oldest buildings were destroyed by a disastrous fire in 1916.
Hartselle was established in 1869. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 14,255 to 15,455 (+8%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Hartselle, 1869 to 1975
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Hartselle. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1936Hartselle 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 Hartselle.
Every building
Hartselle, building by building, 1917–1927
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.
In 1869, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Hartselle’s post office opened in 1872, and the census of 1880 counted 226 people here.
How does Hartselle rank for history?
Hartselle is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns, #96 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 Hartselle?
One place: the Hartselle Downtown Commercial Historic District (listed 1999).
How old are the homes in Hartselle?
1% of Hartselle’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1981.
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 (6), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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 and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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