The Holtville post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Coosa River (1891), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 4,940137 years
How historic is Holtville?
C−
More historic than 20% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Holtville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Holtville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Holtville is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #123 of 187 in Alabama. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Holtville’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 Holtville’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 (±3.9 points). 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 Holtville’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 Holtville yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Holtville (also Slapout) is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Elmore County, Alabama, United States. Its population was 4,940 as of the 2020 census. Holtville/Slapout is located on the western bank of Jordan Lake, and much of its population lives along this lakeshore, or in the neighboring Lightwood community. According to tradition, the old name of Slapout was derived from a storekeeper's way of stating an item was out of stock: he was "slap out of it".
Its first post office opened in 1889. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 4,096 to 4,940 (+21%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Holtville, 1889 to 1959
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 Holtville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1959Elmore sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Holtville.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Holtville had its own post office from 1889 to 1903. Another post office, Coosa River, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Holtville
1889–1903
Coosa River
1891–1892
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Adkin HillCoosa River
Gone or out of use
Bensons MilllocaleLittle York Post Officepost office
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Holtville
EbenezerThrasher
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Holtville’s history
What year was Holtville founded?
The Holtville post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Holtville rank for history?
Holtville is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #123 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 Holtville?
4% of Holtville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.9 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1997.
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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
