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History · McDonald Chapel

14% of McDonald Chapel’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1904 on and the census since 2000.

0on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about McDonald Chapel’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of McDonald Chapel are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19044 editions of the USGS map, 1904 to 1993. Watch McDonald Chapel change.Old housesHalf of McDonald Chapel’s homes were built before 1960.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start McDonald Chapel’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how McDonald Chapel’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

McDonald Chapel on the map, 1904 to 1993

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of McDonald Chapel. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

McDonald Chapel on the 1904 USGS mapMcDonald Chapel on the 1959 USGS mapMcDonald Chapel on the 1970 USGS mapMcDonald Chapel on the 1993 USGS map1904Birmingham Coal District 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 McDonald Chapel.

The story so far

McDonald Chapel, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of McDonald Chapel yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

McDonald Chapel is a census-designated place in Jefferson County, Alabama, United States. It is northeast of the Birmingham suburb of Pleasant Grove. At the 2020 census, the population was 739. Large portions of this area were damaged by violent tornadoes in 1956, 1977, 1998, and 2011. The 1977 and 1998 tornadoes were rated F5 on the Fujita scale.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 717 to 739 (+3%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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People over time

McDonald Chapel, census by census

02004006008001,00020002020Peak: 1,054

Between 717 and 1,054 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on McDonald Chapel’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to McDonald Chapel

Nobody well known was born in McDonald Chapel itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Condoleezza RiceAmerican diplomat and political scientist · b. 1954
Angela DavisAmerican political activist, scholar, and author · b. 1944
Courteney CoxAmerican actress and producer · b. 1964
C
Carl LewisUS track & field athlete · b. 1961
Edward O. WilsonAmerican biologist, naturalist, and writer · b. 1929
Louise FletcherAmerican actress · b. 1934
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Gone or out of use
Edgewater Shaft Minemine

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.

Birmingham147 historic placesA−EdgewaterIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPleasant GroveIts storyD

Questions about McDonald Chapel’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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). How TownRatings grades history →

From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.