Most of Henagar was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Below: maps from 1936 on and the census since 1970.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1878.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Henagar’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Henagar 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 Henagar’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 Henagar’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 (±3.1 points). Two sources give 1855.
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 Henagar’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Henagar was first settled circa 1855. The town is named after an early settler, George Henegar. A post office was established in 1878. It was then that a postal official misspelled the town's name as "Henagar". In 1901, a public school was built. At daybreak on November 18, 1906, a Sunday, the Rainsville tornado struck the town, and all "fifteen stores and houses were reduced to splinters." They rebuilt, and Henagar incorporated in 1965.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Henagar. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1936Henagar 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 Henagar.
People over time
Henagar, census by census
Between 812 and 2,400 people in every census since 1970.
6 censuses, 1970–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Henagar’s Wikipedia page.
Questions about Henagar’s history
What year was Henagar founded?
In 1855, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Henagar’s post office opened in 1878, and the census of 1970 counted 812 people here.
How does Henagar rank for history?
Henagar 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 Henagar?
5% of Henagar’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.1 points), 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 (5), Wikipedia, 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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