A history of Jasper,
since 1815
Postcards, papers and photographs of Jasper from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story so far
from Wikipedia & the U.S. CensusJasper is a city in and the county seat of Walker County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2020 census, Jasper had a population of 14,572. Named in honor of Sergeant William Jasper, an American Revolutionary War hero, Jasper was settled around 1815 and incorporated on August 18, 1886. The first significant growth of the area was in 1886 when the Kansas City, Memphis and Birmingham Railroad and the Sheffield & Birmingham Railroads were completed through Jasper. The population grew from 200 people in 1886 to more than 3,000 in 1890. In a special edition in 1891, the Mountain Eagle stated there were six coal mines, two sandstone quarries, 400 coke ovens, one foundry and machine shop, two saw …
Jasper was established in 1815. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 14,352 people in 2010, 14,572 in 2020. Half of its homes were built before 1977.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Jasper 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 Jasper’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District …, 1880: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Jasper
See all 17 →
Jasper, decade by decade
Commons1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alabama - Walker Co…1880
Commons1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alabama - Walker Co…1880
Commons1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alabama - Walker Co…1880
Commons1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alabama - Walker Co…1880
Commons1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alabama - Walker Co…18801990s
5 historic places in Jasper
Jasper has 5 listings on the National Register, and they protect 129 historic buildings, because Jasper Downtown Historic District alone counts 124.
Where they are
When they were listed
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as 1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alabama - Walker County - Jasper - ED 64-1A, ED 64-1B, ED 64-2, ED 64-3 (1880) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15From Wikimedia Commons (5) and the National Register (1). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.