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D−History
History · Vestavia Hills

Vestavia Hills dates to 1950

Among the newest of U.S. towns · #184 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it

Most of Vestavia Hills was built recently: 0.5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Below: maps from 1905 on and the census since 1960.

1950founded
0on the National Register
0.5%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Sharon Phelan Evans · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Vestavia Hills began

When was Vestavia Hills founded?

1950

Vestavia Hills dates its founding to 1950 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1960.

First census: 4,029 in 19602020 census: 39,10276 years

How historic is Vestavia Hills?

D−

Among the newest of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1896.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Vestavia Hills’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Vestavia Hills is among the newest of U.S. towns, #184 of 187 in Alabama. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Vestavia Hills’ overall grade.
Founding era1950, from Wikidata: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD−Homes built before 19400.5% of homes (±0.4) · typical AL town 3.2% · U.S. 8.4%DNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical AL town 2.7 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Among the newest
NewerOlder
Alabama towns of 2,500+ (187)Ahead of 2%

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 Vestavia Hills’ 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 D. The pre-1940 share (±0.4 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1950.

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 Vestavia Hills’ past

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

Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Vestavia Hills, and 49 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Vestavia Hills are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19054 editions of the USGS map, 1905 to 1997. Watch Vestavia Hills change.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

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

Another post office, Merkel, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Altadena Forest EstatesArbor CrossingAsbury ParkBeacon HillsBiltmore EstatesCahaba HeightsCahaba OaksChimney HillsCountry Ridge EstatesCountrywood HighlandsCoventryCrossgateDerby Downs EstatesDolly Ridge EstatesGentilly ForestGreen View EstatesHickory Ridge EstatesHidden RidgeIvy GlennLongleafMillbrook EstatesMontclairMontreatMountain Branch Estates
Gone or out of use
Montgomery SchoolschoolOld Mud TownlocaleOverton MinemineOverton Number 1 Slope MinemineVestavia Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Vestavia Hills
Cahaba Heights

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

Help out

Start Vestavia Hills’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Vestavia Hills on the map, 1905 to 1997

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

Vestavia Hills on the 1905 USGS mapVestavia Hills on the 1959 USGS mapVestavia Hills on the 1970 USGS mapVestavia Hills on the 1997 USGS map1905Bessemer Iron District sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Vestavia Hills.

The story

How Vestavia Hills came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Vestavia Hills.

Read it all →

Vestavia Hills is named for the 20-acre (8.1 ha) estate of former Birmingham mayor George B. Ward. It was situated on the crest of Shades Mountain in what is now the northern edge of the city. Ward's mansion at the Vestavia estate became a landmark in the area as soon as it was completed in 1925. The 2+1⁄2-story house was patterned after the circular Temple of Vesta in Rome, with dark pink sandstone walls encircled by 20 massive white Doric columns surmounted by a carved entablature. The extensive gardens, populated by statuary and peacocks, surrounded a smaller domed gazebo patterned after the Temple of Sibyl in Tivoli.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Vestavia Hills, 1896 to 1984

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1896Post officeThe Merkel post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1901Post officeThe Merkel post office closes
  5. 1905On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1950
    FoundingVestavia Hills is established
  7. 1964Born hereMichael Papajohn is born here
  8. 1984Born hereFloyd Franks is born here
By decade

Vestavia Hills, decade by decade

Today8 recent
Hydrangea arborescens flowers2019Hydrangea arborescens flowersAgave virginica plant2019Agave virginica plantAgave virginica leaves2019Agave virginica leavesAgave virginica flowers2019Agave virginica flowersWelcome sign to2012Welcome sign toVH with temple2012VH with templeVH Library2012VH LibrarySybyl temple2012Sybyl temple
People over time

Vestavia Hills, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,000196019802000202039,102

Grew from 4,029 people in 1960 to 39,102 in 2020, 9 times over.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Vestavia Hills

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

See all →
M
Michael PapajohnAmerican character actor · b. 1964
F
Floyd FranksAmerican soccer player · b. 1984
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Mountain Brook5 historic placesA−Hoover1 historic placeCBirmingham147 historic placesA−IrondaleIts storyC−Homewood4 historic placesB−

Questions about Vestavia Hills’ history

What year was Vestavia Hills founded?

In 1950, according to Wikidata. Vestavia Hills’ post office opened in 1896, and the census of 1960 counted 4,029 people here.

How does Vestavia Hills rank for history?

Vestavia Hills is among the newest of U.S. towns, #184 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.

How old are the homes in Vestavia Hills?

0.5% of Vestavia Hills’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1978.

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 (8), 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.