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B+History
History · Monroeville

Monroeville’s post office opened in 1833, and 4 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 68% of U.S. towns · #43 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it

Most of Monroeville was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. 4 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Old Monroe County Courthouse, a National Historic Landmark, and two historic districts with 53 buildings between them. Below: maps from 1930 on and the census since 1880.

1833first post office
4on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
9famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Monroeville began

When was Monroeville founded?

1833

The Monroeville post office opened in 1833, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Centreville (1824), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 122 in 18802020 census: 5,951193 years

How historic is Monroeville?

B+

More historic than 68% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Monroeville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Monroeville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Monroeville is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #43 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 Monroeville’s overall grade.
Founding era1833, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19403.0% of homes (±2.6) · typical AL town 3.2% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register4 listings, 55 historic buildings, 94.8 per 10,000 residents · typical AL town 2.7 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 68%
NewerOlder
Alabama towns of 2,500+ (187)Ahead of 77%

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 Monroeville’s 94.8 sits above most of its state (82% of Alabama towns have fewer) while its 55 historic buildings outnumber those of 86% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A. The pre-1940 share (±2.6 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

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 Monroeville’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 Monroeville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Monroeville Downtown Historic District takes in 51 historic buildings.A National Historic Landmark4 places on the National Register, including Old Monroe County Courthouse, a National Historic Landmark.Deep rootsA post office since 1833: 193 years of Monroeville.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Monroeville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Monroeville’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 National Register

4 listings protect 55 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
4
National Historic Landmark
1
Old Monroe County Courthouse
historic buildings protected
55
each building in a district counts
first listed
2009
Monroeville Downtown Historic District
Monroeville Downtown Historic DistrictVanity Fair ParkLee Family HomeOld Monroe County Courthouse★
BuildingsDistricts★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals1
Classical Revival1
Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements1
Bungalow/Craftsman1
Modern Movement1
Moderne1
★ Landmark
Old Monroe County CourthouseBuilding
Monroeville Downtown Historic DistrictLate 19th and 20th Century Revivals
All 4 listings
Vanity Fair ParkDistrict · listed 2020Lee Family HomeBuilding · listed 2025

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

The story

How Monroeville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Monroeville.

Read it all →

Occupied for thousands of years by indigenous peoples, this area was ceded by the historic tribe to the U.S. government in the 1830s and the era of Indian Removal.

The town was first known as Walker's Mill and Store, named for Major Walker, the area's first European-American settler. In 1832, the legislature relocated the county seat to Monroeville from Claiborne on the Alabama River. The settlement was briefly renamed "Centerville" due to its location in the center of the county, and then was formally changed to Monroeville. The town was not formally incorporated until April 15, 1899.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Monroeville, 1824 to 2021

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1824Post officeThe Centreville post office opens
  3. 1833Post officeThe Centreville post office closes
  4. 1833Post officeThe Monroeville post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1926Born hereHarper Lee is born here
  7. 1936Born hereMarva Collins is born here
  8. 1957Born hereMark Childress is born here
  9. 1972On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1996Born hereTytus Howard is born here
  11. 21st century
  12. 2021LandmarkOld Monroe County Courthouse named a National Historic Landmark
By decade

Monroeville, decade by decade

Today24 recent
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On the map

Monroeville on the map, 1972 to 1986

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

Monroeville on the 1972 USGS mapMonroeville on the 1986 USGS map1972Monroeville sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Monroeville.

Every building

Monroeville, building by building, 1930

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 sheet.

Monroeville fire insurance map, 1930, sheet 11930Sheet 1 of 2
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

People over time

Monroeville, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,5007,0007,50018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 6,993

Between 122 and 6,993 people in every census since 1880.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

9 famous people were born in Monroeville

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Harper LeeAmerican novelist · b. 1926
Marva CollinsAmerican schoolteacher · b. 1936
Tytus HowardAmerican football player · b. 1996
M
Mark ChildressNovelist · b. 1957
B
Bill SelbyAmerican baseball player · b. 1970
Chris BookerAmerican baseball player · b. 1976
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Monroeville’s post office has been open since 1833. Another post office, Centreville, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Centreville
1824–1833
Monroeville
1833–today
18201920today
Gone or out of use
Monroeville Grammar Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Monroeville
BethelHillcrest

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

Questions about Monroeville’s history

What year was Monroeville founded?

The Monroeville post office opened in 1833, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Monroeville rank for history?

Monroeville is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #43 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 Monroeville?

4 listings: 2 buildings, among them the Old Monroe County Courthouse (a National Historic Landmark since 2021), and 2 historic districts, the Monroeville Downtown Historic District and the Vanity Fair Park, with 53 contributing buildings. 55 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Monroeville?

3% of Monroeville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.6 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1981.

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 (24), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.