The story
Read it all →How Luverne came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Luverne.
Luverne was one of numerous towns developed in the state as a result of railroad construction.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
BHistory
History · Luverne
Luverne’s post office opened in 1887, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 59% of U.S. towns · #52 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it
Most of Luverne was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 161 buildings. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1890.
1887first post office
1on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
4famous people
Quick answers
How Luverne began
When was Luverne founded?
1887
The Luverne post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1889.
First census: 451 in 18902020 census: 2,765139 years
How historic is Luverne?
B
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 59% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Luverne post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1889.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Luverne’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Luverne is more historic than 59% of U.S. towns, #52 of 187 in Alabama. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Luverne’s overall grade.
Founding era1887, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19406.0% of homes (±4.4) · typical AL town 3.2% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register1 listing, 161 historic buildings, 598 per 10,000 residents · typical AL town 2.7 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 59%
NewerOlder
Alabama towns of 2,500+ (187)Ahead of 73%
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 Luverne’s 598 sits above most of its state (97% of Alabama towns have fewer) while its 161 historic buildings outnumber those of 92% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1889 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Luverne’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · On the National Register
1 listing protects 161 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
161
each building in a district counts
first listed
2005
Luverne Historic District
Districts
Architectural styles listings
Queen Anne1
Bungalow1
Tudor Revival1
Colonial Revival1
Massed Plan Cottage1
Pyramidal Roof Cottage1
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Help out
Start Luverne’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Luverne’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Every building
Luverne, building by building, 1893–1927
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1893Sheet 1 of 1Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Luverne, 1887 to 1985
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
By decade
Luverne, decade by decade
Date?
Date?
Date?
2013
2012
2012On the map
Luverne on the map, 1971 to 1986
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Luverne. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1971Luverne sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Luverne.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewHOUSE OVER GRAVE - Grave Houses, Local Cemetery, Luverne, Crenshaw County, AL HABS ALA,21-LUV.V,1-1
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Luverne’s page.
Retake this view · +15People over time
Luverne, census by census
Between 451 and 2,800 people in every census since 1890.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Luverne’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →4 famous people were born in Luverne
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Places that used to be
Places now gone and burying grounds
Luverne’s post office has been open since 1887.
Gone or out of use
Crenshaw Drive-Inlocale
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Luverne
EmmausGreen
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Luverne’s history
What year was Luverne founded?
The Luverne post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1889.
How does Luverne rank for history?
Luverne is more historic than 59% of U.S. towns, #52 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.
What is on the National Register in Luverne?
One place: the Luverne Historic District (listed 2005).
How old are the homes in Luverne?
6% of Luverne’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.4 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1977.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Start a conversation
Sources
Where this page comes from
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), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.