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History · Mentone

Mentone’s post office opened in 1888, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Mentone Springs Hotel and the Dr. J. A. Gorman House.

1888first post office
2on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Mentone began

When was Mentone founded?

1888

The Mentone post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 319138 years
Founding year: the first Mentone post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Mentone’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 Mentone are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Mentone’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Mentone’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
The story

How Mentone came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Mentone.

Read it all →

The community was named after Menton in France and was incorporated in 1935.

In April 2003, it was the town nearest the epicenter of a magnitude 4.6 earthquake. The surprise quake had alarmed residents in the dark hours of the morning and was felt across several states, but it did not cause any injuries and only minor damage to the town. Mentone is in the Ridge and Valley region of the southwestern Appalachian Mountains, an area that generally goes several decades between significant earthquakes but has never had a major one in recorded history.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Mentone, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Mentone, Alabama Nov 2017 32017Mentone, Alabama Nov 2017 3Mentone, Alabama Nov 2017 22017Mentone, Alabama Nov 2017 2Mentone, Alabama Nov 2017 12017Mentone, Alabama Nov 2017 1Mentone Inn Nov 20172017Mentone Inn Nov 2017Mentone, a town in DeKalb County, Alabama2010Mentone, a town in DeKalb County, AlabamaMentone, a town in DeKalb County, Alabama2010Mentone, a town in DeKalb County, Alabama
On the National Register

2 historic places in Mentone

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1983
Mentone Springs Hotel
Mentone Springs HotelDr. J. A. Gorman House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Queen Anne1
Bungalow/Craftsman1
Mentone Springs HotelQueen Anne
Dr. J. A. Gorman HouseBungalow/Craftsman

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Mentone

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

See all →
Philip OberAmerican stage, film and television actor · b. 1902
T
Thomas H. CookAmerican writer · b. 1947
Katherine StinsonAmerican aviator · b. 1891
Tim FlockAmerican racecar driver · b. 1924
Larry NelsonAmerican professional golfer · b. 1947
R
Randy OwenAmerican musician · b. 1949
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Mentone’s post office has been open since 1888.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Riverdale
1cemetery inside Mentone
Jones

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.

Valley Head1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Mentone’s history

What year was Mentone founded?

The Mentone post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Mentone?

Two places: the Mentone Springs Hotel (listed 1983) and the Dr. J. A. Gorman House (1996).

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (5), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.