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AHistory
History · Tallassee

Tallassee dates to 1835, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 90% of U.S. towns · #2 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 26 buildings between them. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1906 on, and the census since 1880.

1835founded
2on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
6famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Tallassee’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Tallassee began

When was Tallassee founded?

1835

Tallassee dates its founding to 1835 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 1,182 in 18802020 census: 4,763191 years

How historic is Tallassee?

A

More historic than 90% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1840.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Tallassee’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Tallassee is more historic than 90% of U.S. towns, #2 of 187 in Alabama. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its age lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Tallassee’s overall grade.
Founding era1835, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194025.4% of homes (±7.7) · typical AL town 3.2% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register2 listings, 26 historic buildings, 50.6 per 10,000 residents · typical AL town 2.7 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 90%
NewerOlder
Alabama towns of 2,500+ (187)#2 of 187

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 Tallassee’s 50.6 sits above most of its state (75% of Alabama towns have fewer) while its 26 historic buildings outnumber those of 81% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1835.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.7 points).

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Tallassee’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1920 and 1930, then grew 5-fold.A historic districtThe Tallassee Commercial Historic District takes in 22 historic buildings.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Tallassee, and 4 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Tallassee’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Tallassee, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,500188019001920194019601980200020202,034 in 1920Low: 843

Lost half of its people between 1920 and 1930, then grew 5-fold.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

On the National Register

2 listings protect 26 historic buildings

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
26
each building in a district counts
first listed
1992
Tallassee Commercial Historic District
Tallassee Commercial Historic DistrictTallassee Mills
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Commercial Vernacular1
Bungalow1
Art Deco1
Tallassee Commercial Historic DistrictCommercial Vernacular
Tallassee MillsDistrict

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

The story

How Tallassee came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Tallassee.

Read it all →

The historic Creek peoples in this area are believed to have descended from the Mississippian culture, which flourished throughout the Mississippi and Ohio River valleys and the Southeast from about 1000 to 1450. They were mound builders who created massive earthwork mounds as structures for political and religious purposes. They relied greatly on fishing and riverway trading at their major sites (cf. Moundville, Tuscaloosa).

ChaptersCreek Wars and Indian removalAmerican Civil WarMills

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Tallassee, 1835 to 1990

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1835
    FoundingTallassee is established
  3. 1840Post officeThe East Tallassee post office opens
  4. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alabama - Tallapoosa County - East Tallassee - ED…
  5. 1880Post officeThe Tallassee post office opens
  6. 1894Post officeThe Carrville post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1903Born hereGeorge Grant is born here
  9. 1906Post officeThe Carrville post office closes
  10. 1906On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1956Born hereMike Morgan is born here
  12. 1981Born hereMichael Ritch is born here
  13. 1981Born hereDerrick Ansley is born here
  14. 1984In the archiveSnow Flake Dairi Bar, Tallahassee, Alabama
  15. 1990CensusPopulation peaks at 5,112
By decade

Tallassee, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s1 item
1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alabama - Tallapoosa County - East Tallassee - ED 62-21, ED 62-2218801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alabama - Tal…
1890s–1970snothing 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
1980s1 item
Snow Flake Dairi Bar, Tallahassee, Alabama1984Snow Flake Dairi Bar, Tallahassee, Alabama
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
Today10 recent
Tallassee22007Tallassee2RoxyGraden22007RoxyGraden2RoxyGraden12007RoxyGraden1RedEyeBassTallapoosaRiver2007RedEyeBassTallapoosaRiverOverhill-cherokee-little-tennessee2007Overhill-cherokee-little-tennesseeFitzpatrickBridge22007FitzpatrickBridge2FitzpatrickBridge12007FitzpatrickBridge1EastTallassee2007EastTallasseeTallassee Airport - Alabama2006Tallassee Airport - AlabamaALMap-doton-Tallassee2004ALMap-doton-Tallassee
On the map

Tallassee on the map, 1906 to 1983

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

Tallassee on the 1906 USGS mapTallassee on the 1971 USGS mapTallassee on the 1983 USGS map1906Dadeville 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 Tallassee.

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.

1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alabama - Tallapoosa County - East Tallassee - ED 62-21, ED 62-22
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alabama - Tallapoosa County - East Tallassee - ED 62-21, ED 62-22, 1880

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

6 famous people were born in Tallassee

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

See all →
M
Michael RitchAmerican soccer player · b. 1981
G
George GrantAmerican baseball player · b. 1903
M
Mike MorganAmerican sportsperson and gridiron football pla… · b. 1956
Derrick AnsleyAmerican football player and coach · b. 1981
H
Homer Vernon CooperAmerican politician · b. 1890
S
Sophia DurantNative American business woman, plantation owne… · b. 1752
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Tallassee’s post office has been open since 1880. Another post office, Carrville, opened and closed inside today’s town.

East Tallassee
1840–today
Tallassee
1880–today
Carrville
1894–1906
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
CarrvilleHornsbytownJordanvilleTallapoosa City
Gone or out of use
Dubois MilllocaleEast Tallassee Grammar SchoolschoolReeves AirportairportReeves AirportairportTallassee Municipal AirportairportTuckabatchielocale
1cemetery inside Tallassee
Rosehill

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

Questions about Tallassee’s history

What year was Tallassee founded?

In 1835, according to Wikidata. Tallassee’s post office opened in 1840, and the census of 1880 counted 1,182 people here.

How does Tallassee rank for history?

Tallassee is more historic than 90% of U.S. towns, #2 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 Tallassee?

Two places: the Tallassee Commercial Historic District (listed 1992) and the Tallassee Mills (2010).

How old are the homes in Tallassee?

25% of Tallassee’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.7 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1962.

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 Wikimedia Commons (12), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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) 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.