Most of Ragland was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. Below: maps from 1947 on and the census since 1900.
The Ragland post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Trout Creek (1849) and Poe (1881), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 309 in 19002020 census: 1,693139 years
How historic is Ragland?
C−
More historic than 20% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Ragland post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Ragland’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ragland is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ragland’s overall grade.
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 Ragland’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 still be C−. The pre-1940 share (±2.7 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 Ragland’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds
Ragland’s post office has been open since 1887. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Trout Creek
1849–1887
Poe
1881–1887
Ragland
1887–today
18401930today
Gone or out of use
New Town Elementary SchoolschoolNewport ChurchchurchPoelocale
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Ragland
BoxGarden of MemoriesMacedonia
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Ragland, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Ragland yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Ragland is a town in St. Clair County, Alabama, United States southeast of Ashville. It incorporated in 1899. At the 2020 census, the population was 1,693, up slightly from 1,639 in 2010. It is part of the Birmingham-Hoover-Cullman Combined Statistical Area.
Its first post office opened in 1887. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,639 to 1,693 (+3%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Ragland, 1849 to 1947
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Ragland post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Ragland rank for history?
Ragland is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns. 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 Ragland?
4% of Ragland’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.7 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1982.
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 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.
