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D−History
History · Orange Beach

Orange Beach’s post office opened in 1910

More historic than 4% of U.S. towns · #166 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it

Most of Orange Beach was built recently: 0.6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2000. Below: maps from 1921 on and the census since 1990.

1910first post office
0on the National Register
0.6%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Crimson Pictures · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Orange Beach began

When was Orange Beach founded?

1910

The Orange Beach post office opened in 1910, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1984. Two smaller post offices, Caswell (1896) and Roscoe (1906), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 2,253 in 19902020 census: 8,095116 years

How historic is Orange Beach?

D−

More historic than 4% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Orange Beach post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1984.
History grade

What drives Orange Beach’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Orange Beach is more historic than 4% of U.S. towns, #166 of 187 in Alabama. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Orange Beach’s overall grade.
Founding era1910, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19400.6% of homes (±0.6) · typical AL town 3.2% · U.S. 8.4%DNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical AL town 2.7 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 4%
NewerOlder
Alabama towns of 2,500+ (187)Ahead of 11%

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 Orange Beach’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (26% of Alabama towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±0.6 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1984.

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 Orange Beach’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 Orange Beach are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Orange Beach, and 5 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19214 editions of the USGS map, 1921 to 1994. Watch Orange Beach change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Orange Beach’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Orange Beach’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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Orange Beach’s post office has been open since 1910. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Caswell
1896–1954
Roscoe
1906–1920
Orange Beach
1910–today
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Beech Camper and Mobile Home ParkC'est Lavie Mobile Home ParkCaswellRomar BeachWhispering Pines Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Roscoelocale

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

On the map

Orange Beach on the map, 1921 to 1994

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

Orange Beach on the 1921 USGS mapOrange Beach on the 1944 USGS mapOrange Beach on the 1980 USGS mapOrange Beach on the 1994 USGS map1921Bon Secour 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 Orange Beach.

The story so far

Orange Beach, in brief

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

Orange Beach is a resort city in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States. The population was 8,095 at the 2020 census. According to 2023 census estimates, the city is estimated to have a population of 8,534.

Its first post office opened in 1910. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 5,441 to 8,095 (+49%).

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

Timeline

Orange Beach, 1896 to 1954

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1896Post officeThe Caswell post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1906Post officeThe Roscoe post office opens
  5. 1910Post officeThe Orange Beach post office opens
  6. 1920Post officeThe Roscoe post office closes
  7. 1921On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1954Post officeThe Caswell post office closes
By decade

Orange Beach, decade by decade

Today12 recent
FEMA - 11128 - Photograph by Jocelyn Augustino taken on 09-22-2004 in Alabama2004FEMA - 11128 - Photograph by Jocelyn Augustino taken …FEMA - 11123 - Photograph by Jocelyn Augustino taken on 09-22-2004 in Alabama2004FEMA - 11123 - Photograph by Jocelyn Augustino taken …FEMA - 11050 - Photograph by Jocelyn Augustino taken on 09-22-2004 in Alabama2004FEMA - 11050 - Photograph by Jocelyn Augustino taken …FEMA - 11049 - Photograph by Jocelyn Augustino taken on 09-22-2004 in Alabama2004FEMA - 11049 - Photograph by Jocelyn Augustino taken …FEMA - 11048 - Photograph by Jocelyn Augustino taken on 09-22-2004 in Alabama2004FEMA - 11048 - Photograph by Jocelyn Augustino taken …FEMA - 11047 - Photograph by Jocelyn Augustino taken on 09-22-2004 in Alabama2004FEMA - 11047 - Photograph by Jocelyn Augustino taken …FEMA - 11046 - Photograph by Jocelyn Augustino taken on 09-22-2004 in Alabama2004FEMA - 11046 - Photograph by Jocelyn Augustino taken …FEMA - 11045 - Photograph by Jocelyn Augustino taken on 09-22-2004 in Alabama2004FEMA - 11045 - Photograph by Jocelyn Augustino taken …FEMA - 11044 - Photograph by Jocelyn Augustino taken on 09-22-2004 in Alabama2004FEMA - 11044 - Photograph by Jocelyn Augustino taken …FEMA - 11043 - Photograph by Jocelyn Augustino taken on 09-22-2004 in Alabama2004FEMA - 11043 - Photograph by Jocelyn Augustino taken …FEMA - 11042 - Photograph by Jocelyn Augustino taken on 09-22-2004 in Alabama2004FEMA - 11042 - Photograph by Jocelyn Augustino taken …FEMA - 11041 - Photograph by Jocelyn Augustino taken on 09-22-2004 in Alabama2004FEMA - 11041 - Photograph by Jocelyn Augustino taken …
People over time

Orange Beach, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,000200020208,095

Grew from 2,253 people in 1990 to 8,095 in 2020, 3 times over.

4 censuses, 1990–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Gulf Shores1 historic placeDFoley1 historic placeC

Questions about Orange Beach’s history

What year was Orange Beach founded?

The Orange Beach post office opened in 1910, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1984.

How does Orange Beach rank for history?

Orange Beach is more historic than 4% of U.S. towns, #166 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.

How old are the homes in Orange Beach?

0.6% of Orange Beach’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 2000.

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 (12), 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.