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History · Sterrett

Sterrett’s post office opened in 1857

Most of Sterrett was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1997. Below: maps from 1951 on.

1857first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Sterrett began

When was Sterrett founded?

1857

The Sterrett post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Lowery (1886), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 706169 years
Founding year: the first Sterrett post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Sterrett’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Sterrett are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Sterrett’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Sterrett’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Sterrett came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Sterrett.

Read it all →

Sterrett was named in honor of a prominent local family, which included Alphonso A. Sterrett, who served in the Alabama Legislature. At one point in its history, Sterrett was a center of pottery production in central Alabama. Also known as Jugtown, Sterrett was once home to at least ten potters. The pottery produced here was classified as being part of the East Alabama style of pottery, which used high quality clay and a two-toned glaze decoration. William Hilliard Falkner purchased the Sterrett Pottery Works in 1874 and operated it until 1903. His father, Joel Falkner, was also a potter in Sterrett.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Sterrett, 1857 to 1951

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1857Post officeThe Sterrett post office opens
  3. 1886Post officeThe Lowery post office opens
  4. 1895Post officeThe Lowery post office closes
  5. 20th century
  6. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Sterrett on the map, 1951 to 1972

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

Sterrett on the 1951 USGS mapSterrett on the 1972 USGS map1951Vincent sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Sterrett.

Famous people

Famous people close to Sterrett

Nobody well known was born in Sterrett itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Charles BarkleyAmerican basketball player · b. 1963
C
Clayne CrawfordAmerican actor · b. 1978
William Joseph SimmonsKu Klux Klan founder · b. 1880
M
Michael PapajohnAmerican character actor · b. 1964
Joshua B. LeeAmerican politician · b. 1892
W
Warren KiddAmerican basketball player · b. 1970
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Sterrett’s post office has been open since 1857. Another post office, Lowery, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Sterrett
1857–today
Lowery
1886–1895
18501940today
Gone or out of use
Sterrett Elementary Schoolschool
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Sterrett
BeulahLawleys ChapelOld SterrettSterrett

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

VandiverIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWestoverIts storyD

Questions about Sterrett’s history

What year was Sterrett founded?

The Sterrett post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.