Most of Sylvania was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Below: maps from 1936 on and the census since 1970.
The Sylvania post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Mahan (1877), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 476 in 19702020 census: 1,790133 years
How historic is Sylvania?
C−
More historic than 18% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Sylvania post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Sylvania’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sylvania is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Sylvania’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 Sylvania’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 (±2.2 points) is firm at this size. 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 Sylvania’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 Sylvania yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Sylvania is a town in DeKalb County, Alabama, United States. Established in 1836 and incorporated in October 1967, As of the 2020 census, Sylvania had a population of 1,790. Sylvania is located atop Sand Mountain. The first post office was built in 1977.
Its first post office opened in 1893. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,837 to 1,790 (-3%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Sylvania, 1877 to 1936
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Sylvania post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Sylvania rank for history?
Sylvania is more historic than 18% 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 Sylvania?
2% of Sylvania’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1985.
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), 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.
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