Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Its Register listing is the Merritt School. Below: maps from 1973 on and the census since 1880.
The Midway post office opened in 1838, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, James (1881), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Midway’s history is told.
Peaked at 710 in 1930; 421 people lived here in 2020.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Midway’s Wikipedia page.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereNaomi Shelton is born here
Born hereJohnny Ford is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyWikipedia doesn’t have a history of Midway yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Midway is a town located in eastern Bullock County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 421.
Its first post office opened in 1838. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 499 to 421 (-16%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Midway. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Midway.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Midway’s post office has been open since 1838. Another post office, James, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Midway post office opened in 1838, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
One place: the Merritt School (listed 1998).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (2), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
2011
2011
