A history of Selma,
since 1815
Postcards, papers and photographs of Selma from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Before discovery and settlement by Europeans, the area of present-day Selma had been inhabited for thousands of years by various warring tribes of Native Americans. The Europeans encountered the historic Native American people known as the Muscogee (also known as the Creek), who had been in the area for hundreds of years.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Selma’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 🔁Retake an old viewFirst Presbyterian Church of, 1905: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Selma
See all 74 →
Selma, decade by decade
1990s
20 historic places in Selma
Selma has 20 listings on the National Register, and they protect 1,088 historic buildings, because Old Town Historic District Boundary Increase and Additional Documentation alone counts 510. 2 are National Historic Landmarks, the highest tier, which fewer than 3% of listings reach.
Where they are
When they were listed
Listed 2005Water Avenue Historic District (Additional Documentation)Listed 1972John Tyler Morgan HouseListed 1972Water Avenue Historic DistrictListed 1973Sturdivant HallListed 1975St. Paul's Episcopal ChurchListed 1975Dallas County CourthouseListed 1976U.S. Post Office BuildingListed 1978Old Town Historic DistrictListed 1979First Baptist ChurchListed 1987Marcus Meyer Skinner HouseListed 1990Icehouse Historic DistrictListed 1990Riverview Historic DistrictListed 1993Wesley Plattenburg HouseListed 2003Old Town Historic District Boundary Increase and Additional DocumentationListed 2013Tabernacle Baptist ChurchListed 2022Burwell-Dinkins-Anderson HouseListed 2022Northern Heights Presbyterian ChurchListed 2023Selma University Historic DistrictThen & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as "An Ordinance in Regard to Negro Traders" The Daily Selma Reporter, June 1, 1860 (1860) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (9) and the National Register (3). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.