History · Douglas

Douglas’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Douglas. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
4recent photos

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

Douglas was first settled in the mid-19th century. Its first school was built in 1898, followed by Douglas Academy in 1909.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Be one of the first

Start Douglas’s collection

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

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Famous people from DouglasWriters, athletes, leaders and more who were born in Douglas.Meet them →
By decade

Douglas, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Douglas is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Douglas has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Snead Junior College Historic District in Boaz, 9.1 miles away.

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Snead Junior College Historic District’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Douglas?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Douglas’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history

From Wikimedia Commons (4). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

We left the porch light on

Where to, neighbor?

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01