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A−History
History · Sylacauga

Sylacauga’s post office opened in 1837, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 79% of U.S. towns · #16 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it

Most of Sylacauga was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. 3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 64 buildings. Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1890 on, and the census since 1890.

1837first post office
3on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
9old photos & papers
17famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Sylacauga’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Sylacauga began

When was Sylacauga founded?

1837

The Sylacauga post office opened in 1837, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 464 in 18902020 census: 12,578189 years

How historic is Sylacauga?

A−

More historic than 79% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Sylacauga post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Sylacauga’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sylacauga is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns, #16 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 Sylacauga’s overall grade.
Founding era1837, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19409.7% of homes (±3.1) · typical AL town 3.2% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register3 listings, 66 historic buildings, 53.6 per 10,000 residents · typical AL town 2.7 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 79%
NewerOlder
Alabama towns of 2,500+ (187)Ahead of 92%

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 Sylacauga’s 53.6 sits above most of its state (76% of Alabama towns have fewer) while its 66 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 (±3.1 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 Sylacauga’s past

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

A historic districtThe Sylacauga Historic Commercial District takes in 64 historic buildings.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1894 to 1922, drew every building in Sylacauga.Lost villages5 hamlets and corners are still on the map.Deep rootsA post office since 1837: 189 years of Sylacauga.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

3 listings protect 66 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
66
each building in a district counts
first listed
1997
Hightower Brothers Livery Stable
Hightower Brothers Livery Stable, built 1914Sylacauga Historic Commercial DistrictCorner, B.B., Memorial Library, built 1936
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

One-Story Commercial Block2
Art Moderne1
Two-Story Commercial Block1
Works Progress Administration Moderne1
Hightower Brothers Livery StableOne-Story Commercial Block · Built 1914
Sylacauga Historic Commercial DistrictArt Moderne
Corner, B.B., Memorial LibraryWorks Progress Administration Moderne · Built 1936

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Every building

Sylacauga, building by building, 1894–1922

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.

Sylacauga fire insurance map, 1894, sheet 11894Sheet 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.

Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Sylacauga’s post office has been open since 1837.

Hamlets and corners on the map
ChicoLake JoySunriseThe MoonWalco
Gone or out of use
Drummond Fraser HospitalhospitalMemorial HospitalhospitalOdens MilllocaleTalimachusylocale
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Sylacauga
EvergreenRising Star

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

The story

How Sylacauga came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Sylacauga.

Read it all →

The first historical account of the area comes from de Soto's chroniclers as his expedition traveled south along the east bank of the Coosa River in 1540, encountering the town of Talisi at the edges of the Mississippian-era chiefdoms of Coosa and Tuskaloosa. The inhabitants of the Coosa River Valley were later united as the confederacy of Creek people. Their later encounters with Spanish and French settlers had a significant influence on the history of Sylacauga.

ChaptersMarble industry

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Sylacauga, 1837 to 1993

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1837Post officeThe Sylacauga post office opens
  3. 1890On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1910In the archiveGroup of workers in Central Mills. Location: Sylacauga, Alabama
  6. 1914BuiltHightower Brothers Livery Stable is built
  7. 1930Born hereJim Nabors is born here
  8. 1936BuiltCorner, B.B., Memorial Library is built
  9. 1941In the archiveFilling out applications for employment at the Du Pont powder plant near Childersburg, at…
  10. 1951Born hereF. Richard Spencer is born here
  11. 1982Born hereGerald Wallace is born here
  12. 1993Born hereBobby McCain is born here
By decade

Sylacauga, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s–1940s9 items
Group of workers in Central Mills. Location: Sylacauga, Alabama1910Group of workers in Central Mills. Location: Sylacaug…A young sweeper in Central Mills. Location: Sylacauga, Alabama1910A young sweeper in Central Mills. Location: Sylacauga…A young doffer working in Central Mills. Location: Sylacauga, Alabama1910A young doffer working in Central Mills. Location: Sy…Group of young boys working in Central Cotton Mills. (Owned by Avondale Mills.) Not nearly so many youngsters here as t…1910Group of young boys working in Central Cotton Mills. …Filling out applications for employment at the Du Pont powder plant near Childersburg, at the employment office1941Filling out applications for employment at the Du Pon…Filling out applications for employment at the Du Pont powder plant near Childersburg, at the employment office1941Filling out applications for employment at the Du Pon…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Filling out applications for employment at the Du Pont powder plant near Childersb…1941Untitled photo, possibly related to: Filling out appl…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Filling out applications for employment at the Du Pont powder plant near Childersb…1941Untitled photo, possibly related to: Filling out appl…Filling out applications for employment at the Du Pont powder plant near Childersburg, at the employment office1941Filling out applications for employment at the Du Pon…
1950s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
On the map

Sylacauga on the map, 1890 to 1980

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

Sylacauga on the 1890 USGS mapSylacauga on the 1980 USGS map1890Talladega 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 Sylacauga.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Group of workers in Central Mills. Location: Sylacauga, Alabama
Retake this viewGroup of workers in Central Mills. Location: Sylacauga, Alabama, 1910

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Sylacauga’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Sylacauga, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 12,857

Between 464 and 12,857 people in every census since 1890.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Sylacauga’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

17 famous people were born in Sylacauga

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Jim NaborsAmerican actor and singer · b. 1930
Gerald WallaceAmerican basketball player · b. 1982
F. Richard SpencerAmerican Roman Catholic bishop · b. 1951
Bobby McCainAmerican football player · b. 1993
J
Jon HandAmerican football player · b. 1963
A
Anthony ParkerAmerican football player · b. 1966
Help out

Finish Sylacauga’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewGroup of workers in Central Mills. Loca…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

MignonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOak GroveIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townChildersburg2 historic placesC+Fayetteville2 historic placesB−

Questions about Sylacauga’s history

What year was Sylacauga founded?

The Sylacauga post office opened in 1837, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Sylacauga rank for history?

Sylacauga is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns, #16 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 Sylacauga?

Three places: the Hightower Brothers Livery Stable (listed 1997), the Sylacauga Historic Commercial District (2004) and the Corner, B.B., Memorial Library (2005).

How old are the homes in Sylacauga?

10% of Sylacauga’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.1 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1973.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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).

From the Library of Congress (9), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (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), 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.