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B−History
History · Pinson

Pinson’s post office opened in 1895, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 48% of U.S. towns · #77 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it

Most of Pinson was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. 3 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 333 buildings between them. Below: maps from 1905 on and the census since 1990.

1895first post office
3on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Pinson began

When was Pinson founded?

1895

The Pinson post office opened in 1895, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 2004. Two smaller post offices, Mount Pinson (1839) and Wymond (1889), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 10,987 in 19902020 census: 7,215131 years

How historic is Pinson?

B−

More historic than 48% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Pinson post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 2004.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Pinson’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pinson is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #77 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 Pinson’s overall grade.
Founding era1895, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19401.1% of homes (±1.2) · typical AL town 3.2% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register3 listings, 333 historic buildings, 425 per 10,000 residents · typical AL town 2.7 · U.S. 2.4A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 48%
NewerOlder
Alabama towns of 2,500+ (187)Ahead of 59%

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 Pinson’s 425 sits above most of its state (94% of Alabama towns have fewer) while its 333 historic buildings outnumber those of 96% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B+. The pre-1940 share (±1.2 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 2004.

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 Pinson’s past

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

A historic districtThe Palmerdale Homesteads Historic District takes in 135 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Pinson are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Pinson, and 6 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19053 editions of the USGS map, 1905 to 1970. Watch Pinson change.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

3 listings protect 333 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
333
each building in a district counts
first listed
2016
Pinson Hills Historic District
Pinson Hills Historic DistrictPinson Main Street Historic DistrictPalmerdale Homesteads Historic District
Districts
Pinson Hills Historic DistrictDistrict
Pinson Main Street Historic DistrictDistrict
All 3 listings
Palmerdale Homesteads Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2019

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

Help out

Start Pinson’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pinson’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, places now gone and burying grounds

Pinson’s post office has been open since 1895. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Mount Pinson
1839–1895
Wymond
1889–1905
Pinson
1895–today
Palmerdale
1936–today
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Fitzgerald EstatesInnsbrookeOverbrook EstatesPalmerdalePalmerdale Trailer ParkRidgewood
Gone or out of use
Blackburn MilllocaleHagoods StorelocaleMills Springlocale
1cemetery inside Pinson
Pinson

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

The story

How Pinson came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Pinson.

Read it all →

In October 2025, a bonfire shooting occurred in a wooden area of the town, in which four people were shot including two teenagers. High school cheerleader Kimber Mills died following severe injuries sustained from the shooting and she was taken off life support at the UAB Hospital two days later. Additionally, she was an organ donor and an honor walk was held at the hospital that same day.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Pinson, 1839 to 1999

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1839Post officeThe Mount Pinson post office opens
  3. 1889Post officeThe Wymond post office opens
  4. 1895Post officeThe Mount Pinson post office closes
  5. 1895Post officeThe Pinson post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1905Post officeThe Wymond post office closes
  8. 1905On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1917Born hereEd Chandler is born here
  10. 1918Born hereHerman Frank Cash is born here
  11. 1994Born hereZach Cunningham is born here
  12. 1999Born hereNico Collins is born here
By decade

Pinson, decade by decade

Today3 recent
DOWNTOWN PINSON (1 of 1)2017DOWNTOWN PINSON (1 of 1)Alabama Route 151 Road Sign2017Alabama Route 151 Road SignALMap-doton-Pinson2004ALMap-doton-Pinson
On the map

Pinson on the map, 1905 to 1970

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

Pinson on the 1905 USGS mapPinson on the 1959 USGS mapPinson on the 1970 USGS map1905Leeds 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 Pinson.

People over time

Pinson, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00020002020Peak: 10,987

Between 5,033 and 10,987 people in every census since 1990.

4 censuses, 1990–2020.

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Pinson

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

See all →
Zach CunninghamAmerican football player · b. 1994
Nico CollinsAmerican football player · b. 1999
E
Ed ChandlerAmerican baseball player · b. 1917
H
Herman Frank CashKKK member · b. 1918
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Center PointIts storyDClayIts storyC−Birmingham147 historic placesA−

Questions about Pinson’s history

What year was Pinson founded?

The Pinson post office opened in 1895, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 2004.

How does Pinson rank for history?

Pinson is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #77 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 Pinson?

Three places: the Pinson Hills Historic District (listed 2016), the Pinson Main Street Historic District (2016) and the Palmerdale Homesteads Historic District (2019).

How old are the homes in Pinson?

1% of Pinson’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.2 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1985.

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 (3), 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.