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History · Birmingham

Birmingham’s post office opened in 1843, and 45% of its homes were built before 1940

1843first post office
0on the National Register
45%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Birmingham began

When was Birmingham founded?

1843

The Birmingham post office opened in 1843, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 367183 years
Founding year: the first Birmingham post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Birmingham’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 Birmingham are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Birmingham’s homes were built before 1953.Deep rootsA post office since 1843: 183 years of Birmingham.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Birmingham’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Birmingham’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
The story

How Birmingham came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Birmingham.

Read it all →

Birmingham was laid out in 1839. The town was incorporated on May 20, 1856.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Birmingham, 1843 to 1896

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1843Post officeThe Birmingham post office opens
  3. 1864Born hereRose Talbot Bullard is born here
  4. 1893Born hereClifford Ragsdale Hope is born here
  5. 1896Born hereG. Malcolm Trout is born here
By decade

Birmingham, decade by decade

Today3 recent
BirminghamIowaPopPlot2021BirminghamIowaPopPlotCentral City Square2009Central City SquareIAMap-doton-Birmingham2004IAMap-doton-Birmingham
Famous people

3 famous people were born in Birmingham

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

See all →
Clifford Ragsdale HopeAmerican politician · b. 1893
Rose Talbot BullardAmerican physician · b. 1864
G
G. Malcolm TroutAmerican food scientist · b. 1896
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Birmingham’s post office has been open since 1843.

Gone or out of use
Birminghamlocale
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Birmingham
Methodist EpiscopalUnited Presbyterian

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

Questions about Birmingham’s history

What year was Birmingham founded?

The Birmingham post office opened in 1843, 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 →
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 (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.