Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Moulton

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
B+History
History · Moulton

Moulton dates to 1819, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 69% of U.S. towns · #42 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it

3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 40 buildings. Most of Moulton was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1935 on, and the census since 1900.

1819founded
3on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Moulton’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Moulton began

When was Moulton founded?

1819

Moulton dates its founding to 1819 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 290 in 19002020 census: 3,398207 years

How historic is Moulton?

B+

More historic than 69% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1821.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Moulton’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Moulton is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns, #42 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 Moulton’s overall grade.
Founding era1819, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19403.0% of homes (±2.2) · typical AL town 3.2% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register3 listings, 43 historic buildings, 126 per 10,000 residents · typical AL town 2.7 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 69%
NewerOlder
Alabama towns of 2,500+ (187)Ahead of 78%

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 Moulton’s 126 sits above most of its state (86% of Alabama towns have fewer) while its 43 historic buildings outnumber those of 84% 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 (±2.2 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1819.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Moulton’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.A historic districtThe Moulton Courthouse Square Historic District takes in 40 historic buildings.Deep rootsEstablished in 1819: 207 years of Moulton.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Moulton’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewLawrence County Courthouse, Courthouse …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

3 listings protect 43 historic buildings

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
43
each building in a district counts
first listed
1998
Moulton Courthouse Square Historic District
Moulton Courthouse Square Historic DistrictIce HouseDr. Robert Price Irwin House
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Commercial Block2
Classical Modern1
Moulton Courthouse Square Historic DistrictClassical Modern
Ice HouseCommercial Block
All 3 listings
Dr. Robert Price Irwin HouseBuilding · listed 2025

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

Timeline

Moulton, 1819 to 1962

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1819
    FoundingMoulton is established
  3. 1821Post officeThe Moulton post office opens
  4. 1822Born hereJohn Wallace Jones is born here
  5. 1825Born hereLafayette Gregg is born here
  6. 20th century
  7. 1934Born hereJim Blevins is born here
  8. 1935On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1962Born hereKimberley Conrad is born here
The story

How Moulton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Moulton.

Read it all →

By the time Alabama became a state in 1819, an inn had been erected at the site of what is now Moulton to serve migrants along the various early paths that passed through the area. Shortly after Alabama achieved statehood, both Moulton and Courtland (to the north) incorporated and competed for the county seat of Lawrence County. Governor Thomas Bibb awarded the seat to Moulton as the most centrally located of the two within the county. The city is named for Lieutenant Michael Moulton, a soldier killed while fighting under General Andrew Jackson at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in 1814.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Moulton, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Lawrence County Courthouse, Courthouse Square bounded by Main Street, Lawrence Street, Market Street & Court StreetDate?Lawrence County Courthouse, Courthouse Square bounded…
Today5 recent
Moulton-City-Hall-al2018Moulton-City-Hall-alAL24 East - AL33 Signs2018AL24 East - AL33 Signs2010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map for20102010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map forBookMoultonEF420082008MoultonEF42008McDonald Cemetery2006McDonald Cemetery
On the map

Moulton on the map, 1935 to 2000

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

Moulton on the 1935 USGS mapMoulton on the 1940 USGS mapMoulton on the 1960 USGS mapMoulton on the 1976 USGS mapMoulton on the 1988 USGS mapMoulton on the 2000 USGS map1935Moulton 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 Moulton.

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.

Lawrence County Courthouse, Courthouse Square bounded by Main Street, Lawrence Street, Market Street & Court Street
Retake this viewLawrence County Courthouse, Courthouse Square bounded by Main Street, Lawrence Street, Market Street & Court Street

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Moulton, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 3,471

Between 290 and 3,471 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Moulton

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

See all →
K
Kimberley ConradAmerican Playmate · b. 1962
J
John Wallace Jones(1822-1895) American judge · b. 1822
L
Lafayette GreggAmerican judge · b. 1825
J
Jim BlevinsAmerican college football player and coach · b. 1934

Questions about Moulton’s history

What year was Moulton founded?

In 1819, according to Wikidata. Moulton’s post office opened in 1821, and the census of 1900 counted 290 people here.

How does Moulton rank for history?

Moulton is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns, #42 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 Moulton?

Three places: the Moulton Courthouse Square Historic District (listed 1998), the Ice House (2000) and the Dr. Robert Price Irwin House (2025).

How old are the homes in Moulton?

3% of Moulton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1977.

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 (5), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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) 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.