Roanoke’s post office opened in 1839, and 10% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 82% of U.S. towns · #8 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it
1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 69 buildings. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1880.
The Roanoke post office opened in 1839, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Handley (1878), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 327 in 18802020 census: 5,311187 years
How historic is Roanoke?
A−
More historic than 82% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Roanoke post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Roanoke’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Roanoke is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #8 of 187 in Alabama. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Roanoke’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 Roanoke’s 129 sits above most of its state (87% of Alabama towns have fewer) while its 69 historic buildings outnumber those of 87% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±4.2 points). 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 Roanoke’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Roanoke, building by building, 1894–1921
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1894Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
On the map
Roanoke on the map, 1899 to 1983
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Roanoke. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1899Wedowee sheet · 1:125,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Roanoke.
Roanoke was occupied by the Creek before treaties to persuade the Native Americans to cede their land, followed by forced migration under the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The area was part of a broad part of upland developed as cotton plantations worked by enslaved African Americans. The area is still quite rural.
Initially called High Pine in the 1830s after a nearby creek, it was allegedly burned during an Indian uprising in 1836. Renamed Chulafinee in 1840, it was later renamed again for the hometown of one of the early settlers, Roanoke, Virginia. The city was officially incorporated in December 1890.
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.
The Roanoke post office opened in 1839, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Roanoke rank for history?
Roanoke is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #8 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 Roanoke?
One place: the Roanoke Downtown Historic District (listed 1993).
How old are the homes in Roanoke?
10% of Roanoke’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.2 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1978.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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