4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 34 buildings. Below: 7 old photos and papers, maps from 1895 on, and the census since 1880.
The Stevenson post office opened in 1832, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Oak Grove (1837), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 241 in 18802020 census: 1,955194 years
How historic is Stevenson?
A
More historic than 86% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Stevenson post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Stevenson’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Stevenson is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Stevenson’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 Stevenson’s 180 sits above most of its state (90% of Alabama towns have fewer) while its 36 historic buildings outnumber those of 83% 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 (±11.4 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 Stevenson’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Every building
Stevenson, building by building, 1895–1927
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.
1895Sheet 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.
The story so far
Stevenson, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Stevenson yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Stevenson is a city in Jackson County, Alabama, United States, and is included in the Chattanooga-Cleveland-Dalton, TN-GA-AL Combined Statistical Area. Sources listed either 1866 or 1867 as the year of incorporation, but that seems to conflict with the dates given for the town being granted a charter. It did not first appear on the U.S. Census until 1880, where it was the second largest town in Jackson County behind Scottsboro. Since 1900, it has been the third largest town behind either Scottsboro and Bridgeport or vice versa. At the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,955, down from 2,046 in 2010.
Its first post office opened in 1832. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 2,046 to 1,955 (-4%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Stevenson, 1832 to 1947
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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 Stevenson post office opened in 1832, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Stevenson rank for history?
Stevenson is more historic than 86% 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.
What is on the National Register in Stevenson?
4 listings: 2 buildings, among them the Stevenson Railroad Depot and Hotel (listed 1976, the first), 1 historic district, the Stevenson Historic District, with 34 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 36 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Stevenson?
15% of Stevenson’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±11.4 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1976.
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 (5), the Library of Congress (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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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