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History · Alford

Alford’s post office opened in 1908

Most of Alford was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1969. Below: maps from 1952 on and the census since 1920.

1908first post office
0on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Alford began

When was Alford founded?

1908

The Alford post office opened in 1908, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 207 in 19202020 census: 484118 years
Founding year: the first Alford post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Alford’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Alford are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Alford’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Alford, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Alford yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Alford is a town in Jackson County, Florida, United States. The Town of Alford is located on the Florida Panhandle near Marianna, in North Florida. The population was 484 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1908. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 489 in 2010, 484 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

Alford, decade by decade

Today1 recent
EF3 damage Alford, FL 20222022EF3 damage Alford, FL 2022
On the map

Alford on the map, 1952 to 1994

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

Alford on the 1952 USGS mapAlford on the 1982 USGS mapAlford on the 1994 USGS map1952Alford sheet · 1:24,000

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

People over time

Alford, census by census

0100200300400500600192019401960198020002020Peak: 548

Between 207 and 548 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Alford

Nobody well known was born in Alford itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Faye DunawayAmerican actress · b. 1941
Norman ThagardUnited States Marine Corps officer, aviator and… · b. 1943
Artis GilmoreAmerican basketball player · b. 1948
Bobby GoldsboroAmerican pop and country singer-songwriter · b. 1941
C
Carey LoftinAmerican actor · b. 1914
Fuller WarrenAmerican politician · b. 1905

Questions about Alford’s history

What year was Alford founded?

The Alford post office opened in 1908, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (1), 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.