Tarrant dates to 1912, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 58% of U.S. towns · #58 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it
1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 42 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1904 on, and the census since 1920.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1828.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Tarrant’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Tarrant is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns, #58 of 187 in Alabama. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Tarrant’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 Tarrant’s 70.9 sits above most of its state (79% of Alabama towns have fewer) while its 42 historic buildings outnumber those of 84% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.2 points). Two sources give 1912.
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 Tarrant’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
A contest was held to name the new town in 1915. Several people suggested Tarrant in honor of Benjamin Tarrant, who had lived in this community most of his life. Other sources claim the city was named for Felix I. Tarrant, President of National Cast Iron Pipe Company, which built the first major industrial plant in the area in 1912. On August 17, 1918, Tarrant became an incorporated city. Its first mayor was George Washington Thomason. The first census was taken in 1920 and gave Tarrant City a population of 734. From its incorporation until the 1980s, the community went by Tarrant City until it was shortened to Tarrant by the 1990 U.S. Census.
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.
In 1912, according to Wikidata. Tarrant’s post office opened in 1828, and the census of 1920 counted 734 people here.
How does Tarrant rank for history?
Tarrant is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns, #58 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 Tarrant?
One place: the Tarrant City Downtown Historic District (listed 2010).
How old are the homes in Tarrant?
21% of Tarrant’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.2 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1960.
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 (3), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.
2017
2017
