Alleghany’s post office opened in 1857, and 100% of its homes were built before 1940
How Alleghany began, and where its name came from
When was Alleghany founded?
The Alleghany post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name.
How did Alleghany get its name?
The community was named in 1859 for the Alleghany Tunnel mine that fueled the growth of the town when it struck gold four years earlier.
The mine itself was named for the A…
Places now gone and burying grounds
Alleghany’s post office has been open since 1857.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Alleghany’s history
What year was Alleghany founded?
The Alleghany post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From 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.