A history of Gainesville,
then and now
Postcards, papers and photographs of Gainesville from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story so far
from Wikipedia & the U.S. CensusGainesville is a town in Sumter County, Alabama, United States. Founded in 1832, it was incorporated in 1835. As of the 2020 census, Gainesville had a population of 172. Confederate Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest surrendered his men near Gainesville on May 19, 1865, at the Civil War's end.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 208 to 172 (-17%). Half of its homes were built before 1982.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Gainesville yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Gainesville’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🗓️Date a photo1 archive item has no date+2 🔁Retake an old viewDetail view of upper chord connec…, 1989: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Gainesville
See all 6 →
Gainesville, decade by decade
CommonsDetail view of upper chord connections, view south - Tutwil…1989
CommonsDetail view of upper diagonal and vertical members, center …1989
CommonsDetail view of upper diagonal members and rails, view north…1989
CommonsView of approach and main span, view northeast - Tutwiler B…1989
CommonsView of approach span, main truss in background, view south…1989
CommonsView of main span, view northeast - Tutwiler Bridge, Spanni…1989
CommonsView of main truss, view northeast - Tutwiler Bridge, Spann…1989
CommonsView of understructure of main and approach spanns, view we…19891990s
unknown1 item
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Detail view of upper chord connections, view south - Tutwiler Bridge, Spanning Tombigbee River on Alabama State Highway… (1989) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Historic places
National Register · via Wikidata
From Wikimedia Commons (13), the Library of Congress (1) and the National Register (5). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.