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B+History
History · Northport

Northport’s post office opened in 1832, and 4 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 75% of U.S. towns · #30 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 447 buildings between them. Most of Northport was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1924 on, and the census since 1870.

1832first post office
4on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Northport’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Northport began

When was Northport founded?

1832

The Northport post office opened in 1832, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 604 in 18702020 census: 31,125194 years

How historic is Northport?

B+

More historic than 75% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Northport’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Northport is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns, #30 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 Northport’s overall grade.
Founding era1832, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19403.7% of homes (±1.6) · typical AL town 3.2% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register4 listings, 449 historic buildings, 144 per 10,000 residents · typical AL town 2.7 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 75%
NewerOlder
Alabama towns of 2,500+ (187)Ahead of 84%

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 Northport’s 144 sits above most of its state (88% of Alabama towns have fewer) while its 449 historic buildings outnumber those of 97% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share (±1.6 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 Northport’s past

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

A historic districtThe East Northport Historic District takes in 258 historic buildings.Lost villages40 hamlets and corners are still on the map.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1870 and 1890, then grew more than tenfold.A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

4 listings protect 449 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
449
each building in a district counts
first listed
1972
James Shirley House
James Shirley House, built 1830Northport Historic DistrictWilson-Clements House, built 1835East Northport Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Federal2
Bungalow2
Greek Revival1
Queen Anne1
Bungaloid1
Neo-English Cottage1
James Shirley HouseFederal · Built 1830
Northport Historic DistrictGreek Revival
Wilson-Clements HouseFederal · Built 1835
All 4 listings
East Northport Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2004

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

Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Northport’s post office has been open since 1832.

Hamlets and corners on the map
BellwoodBirdway DriveBiscayne HillsBooth EstatesBriarcliffBrookmeadeBrooksideBuckheadChapelwoodCloverdaleCloverdale EstatesCrestdaleCrestmontCrestviewCrestwoodDeerfieldDutton PlaceEast CircleFlatwoodsForest ManorHarperwoodHightownHuntington PlaceIndian Lake
Gone or out of use
Cherokee PlantationlocaleHarper SchoolschoolJemisons MilllocaleNorthport Elementary SchoolschoolPumphreys MilllocaleRices Valley PlantationlocaleSnows MilllocaleWhite Schoolschool
9cemeteries and burying grounds inside Northport
Chapel HillFlatwoodsJennings ChapelPopular SpringRices HillShirleyStoneSunset Memorial GardenWilliamson

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

People over time

Northport, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00018801900192019401960198020002020604 in 1870Low: 413

Lost a third of its people between 1870 and 1890, then grew more than tenfold.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

The story so far

Northport, in brief

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

Northport is a city in Tuscaloosa County in the west central part of the State of Alabama. Located on the Black Warrior River across from downtown Tuscaloosa, it is currently the 17th most populous city in Alabama with a population of 31,125 in the 2020 census. It incorporated in 1871. It is part of the Tuscaloosa metropolitan area.

Its first post office opened in 1832. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 23,330 to 31,125 (+33%).

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

Timeline

Northport, 1830 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1830BuiltJames Shirley House is built
  3. 1832Post officeThe Northport post office opens
  4. 1835BuiltWilson-Clements House is built
  5. 20th century
  6. 1924On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1928Born hereAl Lary is born here
  8. 1930Born hereFrank Lary is born here
  9. 1932In the archiveAlabama
  10. 1942Born hereClark Boler is born here
  11. 1972Born hereAndre Royal is born here
  12. 21st century
  13. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 31,125
By decade

Northport, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s10 items
Alabama1932AlabamaAlabama1932AlabamaAlabama1932AlabamaAlabama1932AlabamaAlabama1932AlabamaAlabama1932AlabamaAlabama1932AlabamaAlabama1932AlabamaEXTERIOR VIEW, LOOKING WEST ALONG ALLEE LEADING TO PLANTATION SITE ON WHICH A MENTAL HOSPITAL IS NOW LOCATED - Robert J…1933EXTERIOR VIEW, LOOKING WEST ALONG ALLEE LEADING TO PL…GENERAL VIEW, LOOKING NORTHWEST, WITH CITY CAFE (LEFT CENTER) - Main Street (Commercial Streetscapes)1933GENERAL VIEW, LOOKING NORTHWEST, WITH CITY CAFE (LEFT…
1940s–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
Date unknown2 to date
Main Street (Commercial Streetscapes)Date?Main Street (Commercial Streetscapes)Robert Jemison Plantation, Byler RoadDate?Robert Jemison Plantation, Byler Road
Today12 recent
Wooden trestle2022Wooden trestleTuscaloosa County High School2018Tuscaloosa County High SchoolKweskin and Axelrod at Kentuck Festival 20152015Kweskin and Axelrod at Kentuck Festival 2015Wilson-Clements House2014Wilson-Clements HouseRonald Reagan - McDonald's2013Ronald Reagan - McDonald'sJames Shirley House2013James Shirley HouseElectronictrafficsigninttown2011ElectronictrafficsigninttownCrimsonwhiteBWRtuscaloosa2011CrimsonwhiteBWRtuscaloosaCanoeingBWRtuscaloosa2011CanoeingBWRtuscaloosaBamaBelleRiverboattusc2011BamaBelleRiverboattuscDowntown-Northport-Alabama2009Downtown-Northport-AlabamaALMap-doton-Northport2004ALMap-doton-Northport
On the map

Northport on the map, 1924 to 1983

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

Northport on the 1924 USGS mapNorthport on the 1971 USGS mapNorthport on the 1983 USGS map1924Tuscaloosa 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 Northport.

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.

Alabama
Retake this viewAlabama, 1932

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

5 famous people were born in Northport

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

See all →
Frank LaryAmerican baseball player · b. 1930
A
Al LaryAmerican baseball player · b. 1928
A
Andre RoyalAmerican football player · b. 1972
C
Clark BolerAmerican football and baseball coach · b. 1942
C
Curley HallmanAmerican football player and coach · b. 1947
Help out

Finish Northport’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewAlabama: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Tuscaloosa32 historic placesB+CokerIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Northport’s history

What year was Northport founded?

The Northport post office opened in 1832, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Northport rank for history?

Northport is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns, #30 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 Northport?

4 listings: 2 buildings, among them the James Shirley House (listed 1972, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Northport Historic District and the East Northport Historic District, with 447 contributing buildings. 449 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Northport?

4% of Northport’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.6 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1992.

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 (22), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.