Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 17% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Vernon was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1967 on, and the census since 1880.
Vernon first appears in the census in 1880.
More historic than 17% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Vernon is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns. 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 Vernon’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.
Founding year: the first census (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.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Vernon’s history is told.
Peaked at 2,609 in 1980; 1,921 people lived here in 2020.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Vernon’s Wikipedia page.
From Wikipedia’s history of Vernon.
The city of Vernon was originally known as Swayne Courthouse; it was named for the head of the Freedman's Bureau, General Wager Swayne, who served in the Chattahoochee District of the state. Many of the records of this time were lost, when the courthouse burned in 1866. The name of the town was changed in 1868 to Vernon after Edmund Vernon.
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.
Born hereGuy Morton is born here
Born hereTerry Moore is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Vernon. 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 Vernon.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Vernon had its own post office from 1880 to 1901.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Vernon post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Vernon is more historic than 17% 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.
2% of Vernon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.6 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1973.
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 (7), 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.
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