More historic than 4% of U.S. towns · #166 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it
Most of Rainsville was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. Below: maps from 1936 on and the census since 1960.
The Rainsville post office opened in 1954, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1956. Two smaller post offices, Musgrove (1877) and Chavies (1883), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 568 in 19602020 census: 5,50572 years
How historic is Rainsville?
D−
More historic than 4% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Rainsville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1956.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Rainsville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Rainsville 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 Rainsville’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 Rainsville’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 (±2.2 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1956 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Rainsville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
An EF5 tornado struck the city on April 27, 2011, leaving 25 fatalities. It initially touched down 10 miles (16 km) to the southwest in Lakeview, causing structural damage to small buildings and snapping trees. It grew in intensity, and the path width increased from around fifty yards to a half a mile, as the rotation entered the Rainsville and Sylvania communities. Damage included houses that were completely removed from foundations and debris scattered for about one mile, trees debarked, and a few mobile homes were destroyed with debris strewn for about a mile downstream. In Sylvania, some of these houses removed from foundations contained anchor bolts and foundation straps.
The Rainsville post office opened in 1954, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1956.
How does Rainsville rank for history?
Rainsville 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 Rainsville?
2% of Rainsville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1991.
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), 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.
2013
2011
2011
