Alabama’s Cities And Towns Reveal A Tapestry Of Stories

There are 465 municipalities in Alabama, 174 of them are classified as cities while 287 are towns, each with their own history or accomplishments by famous citizens. But some smaller cities and towns have recorded bigger histories than their size indicates. Some of those histories not only impacted the municipality but the entire state and, in some cases, the whole country.

By state law, a municipality is legally considered a city if it has a population of 2,000 or larger, populations blow that are considered a town.

Let's take a look at the Top 10 small Alabama towns and cities with outsized histories:

1. Childersburg (2025 Population 4,563): Considered the oldest continually occupied settlement in the nation. It was settled by Native Americans and later by European settlers, with historical roots dating back to 1540. 
2. Demopolis (2025 Population 6,627): This West Alabama city is famous for its French history. It was founded in 1817 by French expatriates from Napolean's France. It was to be a Vine and Olive Colony but failing that it became a thriving river port. On the list of National Historic Landmarks are Gaineswood (1861) and Bluff Hall (1832), both Greek Revival mansions on the National List of Historic Landmarks. The Demopolis Town Square, established in 1819, is one of the oldest in the south.
3. Daviston (2025 Population 214): In 1814 Major General Andrew Jackson ‘s army of 3,300 men attacked Chief Menawa’s 1,000 Red Stick Creek warriors fortified in a horseshoe shaped bend of the Tallapoosa River.  Thus, the name The Battle of Horseshoe Bend. Over 800 Red Sticks died that day.  This battle ended the Creek War, resulted in a land cession of 23,000,000 acres to the United States and created a national hero of Andrew Jackson.
4. Greensboro (2025 Population 2,131): This West Alabama town downtown is part of the National Register-listed Greensboro Historic District, which includes a wide range of antebellum and early 20th-century commercial and residential buildings, including Magnolia Grove, boyhood home of Richmond Pearson Hobson, a naval officer and Medal of Honor recipient...The Safe House Black History Museum preserves the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement and occupies the house where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. took shelter in 1968 to evade the Ku Klux Klan.
5. Mooresville (2025 Population 49): Incorporated in 1818, one year before Alabama became a state. The entire town is on the National Register of Historic Places. Some call it "Alabama's Williamsburg." The town a living museum of early Southern life and is where James A. Garfield preached prior to the Civil War. The Church of Christ where the man who would become president preached still stands. The 1840 Mooresville Post Office, still in operation, is the oldest in Alabama and among the oldest in the nation.
6. Muscle Shoals (Population 14,575): Music is the pulse of this small city. World class recording studios and studio musicians created what became known as the Muscle Shoals Sound, heard around the world. Fame Studios and Muscle Shoals Sound Studio became known as the "Hit Recording Capital of the World" due to the success of artists like Aretha Franklin, Willie Nelson, Rod Stewart, The Rolling Stones, Cher, Paul Simon, Linda Ronstadt, Chris Stapleton, Bob Dylan and dozens of others recording there. In the 1960s and 70s the studio group "the Swampers" were considered the best in the business.
7. Selma (2025 Population 15,897): The county seat of Dallas County has played an integral part in our nation's history. During the Civil War it served as a vital Confederate manufacturing and logistical center, producing weapons, artillery, and ironclad ships at the Selma Ordnance and Naval Foundry...Fast forward 100 years and the city that was one of the arsenals of the Confederacy became the birthplace of voting rights with the brutal beating of civil rights marchers attempting to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Their struggle succeeded in prompting congress to pass the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Ironically, the confrontation took place just two blocks from the former Confederate arsenal.
8. Tuscumbia (2025 Population 9,029): Tuscumbia is one of those small cities who was home to a citizen of tremendous accomplishments, Helen Keller. She lost her sight and hearing at 19 months old and is best known for her work advocating for the deaf and blind, but she also supported women's suffrage, birth control, and pacifism.  The movie "The Miracle Worker" depicted her relationship with her teacher Anne Sullivan who taught her to communicate, read Braille, write with a special typewriter, and speak by feeling Sullivan's throat. Her home "Ivy Green" is open for tours and presents productions of "The Miracle Worker" each summer on the very grounds where the events took place...The Tuscumbia Landing site marks the site of a transient point for the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail System...Tuscumbia's next-door neighbor, Florence, is the birthplace of the founder of jazz music, W.C. Handy. There is also The Rosenbaum Home, the only Frank Lloyd Write designed home in Alabama.
9. Moundville (2025 Population 3,173): This small city that crosses the Hale and Tuscaloosa County line has one of the oldest histories in the nation. It is home to Moundville State Archaeological Park which is operated by the University of Alabama. National Geographic called Moundville "The Big Apple of the 14th Century," because of its prehistoric history as the largest city north of Mexico at the time. The Moundville Native American Festival is held each fall, giving tourist a look into real Native American history.
10. Monroeville (2025 Population 5,598): The birthplace and childhood homes of two of the world's greatest literary figures, Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird) and Truman Capote (In Cold Blood). The city hosts the Monroeville Literary Festival, celebrating its status as the Literary Capital of Alabama. 

There are other small places with big histories such as Tensaw, an unincorporated area, in North Baldwin County where they re-enact the Battle of Burnt Corn followed by the Battle of Fort Mims each August, Eufaula (2025 Population 12,169): Home of the largest collection of antebellum homes and "The Big Bass Capital of the World." Fort Payne (2025 Population 15,011): A stop on the "Trail of Tears", Tallassee (2025 Population 4,731): Home to the only standing Confederate Armory, Tuskegee (2025 Population 8,653): Where Booker T. Washington rose to fame as founder of the Tuskegee Institute in 1881 to advance African American higher education. Also, the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site invites guests to learn about the legend of the gallant World War 2 African American soldiers.