Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 64% of U.S. towns · #48 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it
Most of Troy was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Its Register listings are the College Street Historic District, the Troy High School and the Troy Masonic Temple. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1850.
The Troy post office opened in 1838, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Pike Court House (1825), Union Hill (1835) and Pike (1900), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
More historic than 64% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Troy is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #48 of 187 in Alabama. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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 Troy’s 10.7 sits above most of its state (67% of Alabama towns have fewer) while its 19 historic buildings outnumber those of 79% of U.S. towns.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Troy’s post office has been open since 1838. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
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.
1885Sheet 1 of 2Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
3 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1925Front page of newspaper, The Troy Messenger, 25 Feb. …Document
1939Melody Tillery's mare and mule colt, Pike County, nea…
1939Some of Melody Tillery's family (rural rehabilitation…
1939Some of Melody Tillery's family (rural rehabilitation…
1939Untitled photo, possibly related to: Mr. Hydrick look…
1939Untitled photo, possibly related to: Mr. Hydrick look…
1939Untitled photo, possibly related to: Mr. Hydrick look…
1939Mr. Hydrick, county supervisor, examining Melody Till…
1939Melody Tillery (rural rehabilitation client) and one …
1939Mr. Hydrick looking over some of Melody Tillery's (ru…From Wikipedia’s history of Troy.
For many centuries, the area around Troy was settled by different tribes of Native Americans, but became primarily known for its Muskogee Creek presence. Most Creek tribes lived along rivers or streams at that time. Near the Troy area, many Native Americans settled around the Conecuh River and the Pea River.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alabama - Pike County - Troy - ED 55-1A, ED 55-1B…In the archiveFront page of newspaper, The Troy Messenger, 25 Feb. 1925In the archiveMelody Tillery's mare and mule colt, Pike County, near Tray Alabama
Born hereWillie Davenport is born here
Born hereManuel H. Johnson is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Troy. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Troy.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Troy’s page.
Retake this view · +15The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Between 600 and 18,033 people in every census since 1850.
17 censuses, 1850–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Troy’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
The Troy post office opened in 1838, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Troy is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #48 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.
Three places: the College Street Historic District (listed 1976), the Troy High School (1984) and the Troy Masonic Temple (2024).
4% of Troy’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.9 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1987.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 Library of Congress (9), 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.
1880
