Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 32% of U.S. towns · #107 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it
Most of Hazel Green was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. Below: maps from 1936 on and the census since 1980.
The Hazel Green post office opened in 1817, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 32% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hazel Green is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #107 of 187 in Alabama. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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 Hazel Green’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.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hazel Green’s history is told.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyFrom Wikipedia’s history of Hazel Green.
The origin of Hazel Green’s name is uncertain; however, a couple theories have been proposed, one being that the hazelnut bushes growing there were of a very vibrant green color in the springtime, and another is that the town was named for the wife of a store owner and postmaster in the early days of settlement in the area.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Hazel Green. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Hazel Green.
Grew from 1,503 people in 1980 to 4,105 in 2020.
5 censuses, 1980–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Hazel Green’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Hazel Green post office opened in 1817, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Hazel Green is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #107 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.
2% of Hazel Green’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 1991.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (5), 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.
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