History · Albany

Albany dates to 1845, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 86% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Albany Carnegie Public Library and the Samuel and Pauline Peery House. Below: maps from 1886 on and the census since 1860.

1845founded

2on the National Register

21%homes built before 1940

3famous people

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Quick answers

How Albany began

When was Albany founded?

1845

Albany dates its founding to 1845 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1860.

First census: 476 in 18602020 census: 1,679181 years

How historic is Albany?

More historic than 86% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1857.The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Albany’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Albany is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Albany’s overall grade.

Founding era1845, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA⁻Homes built before 194021.4% of homes (±5.7) · typical MO town 8.4% · U.S. 8.4%B⁺National Register2 listings, 3 historic buildings, 15.7 per 10,000 residents · typical MO town 2.4 · U.S. 2.4B⁺

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 86%

NewerOlder

Missouri towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Missouri town has 2.4 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Albany’s 15.7 sits above most of its state (78% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.7 points). Two sources give 1845.

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 Albany’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 Albany are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1886 to 1916, drew every building in Albany.Deep rootsEstablished in 1845: 181 years of Albany.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Albany’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Albany’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

Every building

Albany, building by building, 1886–1916

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Albany fire insurance map, 1886, sheet 1

1886Sheet 1 of 1

Edition

Sheets

BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Albany, 1845 to 1985

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

19th century
1845
FoundingAlbany is established
1857Post officeThe Albany post office opens
1898Born hereJohn Twist is born here
20th century
1901Born hereMoose Clabaugh is born here
1906BuiltAlbany Carnegie Public Library is built
1925Born hereJohn S. Murray is born here
1985On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey

The story

How Albany came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Albany.

Read it all →

Albany was originally called Athens, and under the latter name was platted in 1845. The present name is a transfer from Albany, New York, the native home of a local judge. A post office called Albany has been in operation since 1857.

The Albany Carnegie Public Library, Gentry County Courthouse, and Samuel and Pauline Peery House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Albany, decade by decade

Today1 recent

2025SamuelPaulinePeeryHouse

On the map

Albany on the map, 1985 to 1991

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

1985Albany South 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 Albany.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Albany

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

1990

Albany Carnegie Public Library

Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Second Renaissance Revival1

Queen Anne1

Albany Carnegie Public LibrarySecond Renaissance Revival · Built 1906

All 2 listings

Samuel and Pauline Peery HouseBuilding · listed 2005

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Albany, census by census

Between 476 and 2,152 people in every census since 1860.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Albany

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

See all →

John TwistScreenwriter · b. 1898

John S. MurrayAmerican politician in Washington · b. 1925

Moose ClabaughAmerican baseball player · b. 1901

Questions about Albany’s history

What year was Albany founded?

In 1845, according to Wikidata. Albany’s post office opened in 1857, and the census of 1860 counted 476 people here.

How does Albany rank for history?

Albany is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns. 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.

What is on the National Register in Albany?

Two places: the Albany Carnegie Public Library (listed 1990) and the Samuel and Pauline Peery House (2005).

How old are the homes in Albany?

21% of Albany’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.7 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1971.

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 (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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