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A−History
History · Mountain Brook

14% of Mountain Brook’s homes were built before 1940

More historic than 78% of U.S. towns · #20 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it

5 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 26 buildings between them. Below: maps from 1953 on and the census since 1950.

5on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

About Mountain Brook’s history

How historic is Mountain Brook?

A−

More historic than 78% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Mountain Brook’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mountain Brook is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #20 of 187 in Alabama. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mountain Brook’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194014.4% of homes (±5.0) · typical AL town 3.2% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register5 listings, 29 historic buildings, 13.2 per 10,000 residents · typical AL town 2.7 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 78%
NewerOlder
Alabama towns of 2,500+ (187)Ahead of 90%

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 Mountain Brook’s 13.2 sits above most of its state (69% of Alabama towns have fewer) while its 29 historic buildings outnumber those of 81% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.0 points).

Founding year: our sources. 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 Mountain Brook’s past

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

Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Mountain Brook, and 10 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Mountain Brook are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Mountain Brook Office Park Historic District takes in 22 historic buildings.Landmarks on the Register5 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Buckeye
1878–1903
Waddell
1888–1896
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Abington GreenBentley HillsCherokee BendCherokee ForestCrestline HeightsDunbarton OaksEuclid EstatesGlencoeMountain Brook VillageShady Brook Estates
Gone or out of use
BuckeyelocaleMontroselocaleOld Irondale Furnacelocale

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

Help out

Start Mountain Brook’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Mountain Brook’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

5 listings protect 29 historic buildings

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

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
29
each building in a district counts
first listed
1993
Redmont Garden Apartments
Gleissner, John D. and Katherine, Lustron House, built 1949Wright, Bernice L., Lustron House, built 1949Mountain Brook Estates Building, built 1928Redmont Garden ApartmentsMountain Brook Office Park Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Lustron House2
Tudor Revival1
Colonial Revival1
Gleissner, John D. and Katherine, Lustron HouseLustron House · Built 1949
Wright, Bernice L., Lustron HouseLustron House · Built 1949
Mountain Brook Estates BuildingTudor Revival · Built 1928
All 5 listings
Redmont Garden ApartmentsDistrict · listed 1993Mountain Brook Office Park Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2022

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

The story

How Mountain Brook came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Mountain Brook.

Read it all →

The city was originally developed in 1929 by real-estate businessman Robert Jemison Jr., as a suburb of Birmingham along the ridges known as Red Mountain and Shades Mountain. It was incorporated on May 24, 1942. The plans, by Boston-based landscape architect Warren H. Manning, called for estate-sized lots along winding scenic roads and denser commercial development centering on three picturesque "villages": English Village, Mountain Brook Village and Crestline Village. Most of Mountain Brook's development preserved the existing trees: 92.03% is under tree cover, one of the highest ratios in the nation. Residential sections such as Cherokee Bend, Brookwood Forest, Overton, and Crestline have houses in a forest setting, with a recreational network of bridle paths. This has protected the area from urban encroachment.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Mountain Brook, 1878 to 1953

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1878Post officeThe Buckeye post office opens
  3. 1888Post officeThe Waddell post office opens
  4. 1896Post officeThe Waddell post office closes
  5. 20th century
  6. 1903Post officeThe Buckeye post office closes
  7. 1928BuiltMountain Brook Estates Building is built
  8. 1949BuiltGleissner, John D. and Katherine, Lustron House is built
  9. 1949BuiltWright, Bernice L., Lustron House is built
  10. 1953On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Mountain Brook, decade by decade

Today17 recent
Mystics of Mountain Brook Halloween Parade 20102010Mystics of Mountain Brook Halloween Parade 2010Mystics of Mountain Brook Halloween Parade 20102010Mystics of Mountain Brook Halloween Parade 2010Mbhs2008renovation2010Mbhs2008renovationMBHSfield2010MBHSfieldCrestline Elementary School2009Crestline Elementary SchoolBrookwood Forest Elementary School2009Brookwood Forest Elementary SchoolMountainBrookPoliceCar-Snow2008MountainBrookPoliceCar-SnowCrestlineVillageSnow2008CrestlineVillageSnowMBBoardNew2007MBBoardNewMtnBrookCityHall2006MtnBrookCityHallMapMtnBrook2006MapMtnBrookMBHSfront2006MBHSfrontMBBoard2006MBBoardCrestlineClockTowerMtnBrook2006CrestlineClockTowerMtnBrookNataleeHollowayWall-male2005NataleeHollowayWall-maleNataleeHollowayWall-female2005NataleeHollowayWall-femaleNataleeHollowayWall-NewsCrews2005NataleeHollowayWall-NewsCrews
On the map

Mountain Brook on the map in 1953

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Mountain Brook.

Mountain Brook on the 1953 USGS map1953Birmingham sheet · 1:250,000

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

People over time

Mountain Brook, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,000196019802000202022,461

Grew from 8,359 people in 1950 to 22,461 in 2020.

8 censuses, 1950–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Vestavia HillsIts storyD−Birmingham147 historic placesA−IrondaleIts storyC−Homewood4 historic placesB−

Questions about Mountain Brook’s history

How does Mountain Brook rank for history?

Mountain Brook is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #20 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 Mountain Brook?

5 listings: 3 buildings and 2 historic districts, the Redmont Garden Apartments and the Mountain Brook Office Park Historic District, with 26 contributing buildings. 29 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Mountain Brook?

14% of Mountain Brook’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.0 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1964.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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 (17), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (5), Wikipedia, 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.