History · Midfield

Midfield was first counted by the census in 1960, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 16% of U.S. towns · #133 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1905 on, and the census since 1960.

1960first census

0on the National Register

11%homes built before 1940

1old photo or paper

1famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Midfield’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Midfield began

When was Midfield founded?

1960

Midfield first appears in the census in 1960. Another post office, Wilkes (1887), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 3,556 in 19602020 census: 5,21166 years

How historic is Midfield?

C⁻

More historic than 16% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: the first census.

History grade

What drives Midfield’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Midfield is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #133 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 Midfield’s overall grade.

Founding era1960, from the first census: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD⁻Homes built before 194011.3% of homes (±6.4) · typical AL town 3.2% · U.S. 8.4%B⁻National RegisterNo listings counted · typical AL town 2.7 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C⁻

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 16%

NewerOlder

Alabama towns of 2,500+ (187)Ahead of 29%

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 Midfield’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 (±6.4 points).

Founding year: the first census (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 Midfield’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Midfield, and 5 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19053 editions of the USGS map, 1905 to 1970. Watch Midfield change.Old housesHalf of Midfield’s homes were built before 1958.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Midfield’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Retake an old viewAuto Cinema, Route 11: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Another post office, Wilkes, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map

Fairfield HighlandsGrasselliValhallaWest FairfieldWilkes

Gone or out of use

Clicks MilllocaleForestlocale

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

On the map

Midfield on the map, 1905 to 1970

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

1905Bessemer Iron 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 Midfield.

The story so far

Midfield, in brief

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

Midfield is a town in Jefferson County, Alabama, United States, located two miles south of the Birmingham suburb of Fairfield. It incorporated in 1953. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 5,211.

Its first post office opened in 1960. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 5,365 to 5,211 (-3%).

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

Timeline

Midfield, 1887 to 1992

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

19th century
1887Post officeThe Wilkes post office opens
1889Post officeThe Wilkes post office closes
20th century
1905On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1980In the archiveAuto Cinema, Route 11
1992Born hereJ. J. Nelson is born here

By decade

Midfield, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1980s1 item

1980Auto Cinema, Route 11

1990snothing yet

Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Add from your album

Today1 recent

2004ALMap-doton-Midfield

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 viewAuto Cinema, Route 11, 1980

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Midfield’s page.

Retake this view · +15

People over time

Midfield, census by census

Between 3,556 and 6,621 people in every census since 1960.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Fairfield3 historic placesB⁻Birmingham147 historic placesA⁻BrightonIts storyC

Questions about Midfield’s history

What year was Midfield founded?

The Midfield post office opened in 1960, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Midfield rank for history?

Midfield is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #133 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 Midfield?

11% of Midfield’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.4 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1958.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (2), 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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