More historic than 15% of U.S. towns · #136 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it
Most of Kimberly was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2002. Below: maps from 1951 on and the census since 1960.
The Kimberly post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Jefferson Mines (1875) and Bryan Station (1887), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 763 in 19602020 census: 3,841125 years
How historic is Kimberly?
C−
More historic than 15% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Kimberly post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Kimberly’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Kimberly is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns, #136 of 187 in Alabama. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Kimberly’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 Kimberly’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 is a Census survey estimate (±5.2 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 Kimberly’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The city of Kimberly developed around a stagecoach station built in the 1830s; it remained in service until 1865. At this time, the settlement was known as Kennelsville. The city then became known as Jefferson, probably after the nearby Old Jefferson coal mine, until the late 1880s. In 1888, the town's post office was relocated to nearby Morris. In 1905, the town voted to change its name to Kimberly because another Alabama town had already claimed the name Jefferson. The town had a population of around 900 by 1910. Local coal mines were primary employers in Kimberly and were active through the 1940s, gradually closing down during the 1950s. Another significant employer in Kimberly was the Dixie Firebrick Company, founded in the 1930s; it was later bought out by A.P. Green Refractories Company. This facility shut down sometime in the mid-1970s. The city officially incorporated in 1952. M…
The Kimberly post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Kimberly rank for history?
Kimberly is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns, #136 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 Kimberly?
8% of Kimberly’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.2 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 2002.
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 (1), 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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