More historic than 17% of U.S. towns · #131 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it
Most of Hokes Bluff was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Below: maps from 1972 on and the census since 1950.
The Hokes Bluff post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Ewings (1897) and Mayes (1898), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 1,158 in 19502020 census: 4,446153 years
How historic is Hokes Bluff?
C−
More historic than 17% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Hokes Bluff post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Hokes Bluff’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hokes Bluff is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns, #131 of 187 in Alabama. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hokes Bluff’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 Hokes Bluff’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 range from D to C−. The pre-1940 share (±2.0 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 →
What stands out about Hokes Bluff’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Hokes Bluff was established on a high bluff overlooking the Coosa River. The town was called "The Bluff", and was used as a lookout station by Native American tribes, as they could see a great distance across, up and down the Coosa River. Hokes Bluff was one of the staging areas where the Cherokee were collected, and sent to Gunter's Landing (Guntersville), and west to Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears.
The Hokes Bluff post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Hokes Bluff rank for history?
Hokes Bluff is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns, #131 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.
How old are the homes in Hokes Bluff?
2% of Hokes Bluff’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.0 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1983.
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 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.
