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History · Altamont

Altamont’s post office opened in 1890, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1924 on and the census since 1900.

1890first post office
0on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
Quick answers

How Altamont began

When was Altamont founded?

1890

The Altamont post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1896.

First census: 288 in 19002020 census: 171136 years
Founding year: the first Altamont post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1896.The full story ↓

What stands out about Altamont’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 Altamont’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
People over time

Altamont, census by census

01002003001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 349

Peaked at 349 in 1920; 171 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

The story

How Altamont came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Altamont.

Read it all →

Altamont, the youngest town in the county, was laid out circa 1890. The town was so named on account of its lofty elevation. A post office called Altamont has been in operation since 1890.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Altamont, 1890 to 1924

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1890Post officeThe Altamont post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 349
  5. 1924On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Altamont, decade by decade

Today1 recent
On the map

Altamont on the map, 1924 to 1984

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

Altamont on the 1924 USGS mapAltamont on the 1984 USGS map1924Winston sheet · 1:62,500

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Altamont

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

See all →
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Questions about Altamont’s history

What year was Altamont founded?

The Altamont post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1896.

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 (1), Wikipedia, 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.