Most of Steele was built recently: 0.9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. Below: maps from 1947 on and the census since 1880.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Steele is more historic than 14% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Steele’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 Steele’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 C−. The pre-1940 share (±1.1 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: the first census (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 Steele’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Steele yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Steele is a town in northeastern St. Clair County, Alabama, United States. It was incorporated in 1952. As of the 2020 census, Steele had a population of 992. The town is a part of the Birmingham–Hoover–Cullman Combined Statistical Area. It was initially known as Steel's Station or Steele's Depot in the late 19th century.
Its first post office opened in 1880. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,043 to 992 (-5%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Steele, 1871 to 1947
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Steele post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Steele rank for history?
Steele is more historic than 14% 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 Steele?
0.9% of Steele’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.1 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1980.
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 (2), 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.
2025
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