The story
Read it all →How Altha came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Altha.
Altha was first settled in 1902, and the Town of Altha was officially incorporated as a municipality in 1946.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Altha
Altha’s post office opened in 1902
Most of Altha was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1952 on, and the census since 1950.
1902first post office
0on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Quick answers
How Altha began
When was Altha founded?
1902
The Altha post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1946.
First census: 434 in 19502020 census: 496124 years
Founding year: the first Altha post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1946.The full story ↓
What stands out about Altha’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Altha’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Altha’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
Altha, 1902 to 1952
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
By decade
Altha, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1950s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
2026
2017
2004On the map
Altha on the map, 1952 to 1994
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Altha. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1952Altha West sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Altha.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewConnecticut -New Haven County - -Windham County- -- Delaware -entire state- -- District of Columbia -- Florida -Alachua…, 1940
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Altha’s page.
Retake this view · +15People over time
Altha, census by census
Between 413 and 536 people in every census since 1950.
8 censuses, 1950–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Altha’s Wikipedia page.
Questions about Altha’s history
What year was Altha founded?
The Altha post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1946.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (4), 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.