Welcome to Nelson ...
Nelson is located in Shelby County<1>.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Nelson, you might consider that their post office opened in 1857.
Nelson is 460 feet [140 m] above sea level.<2>.
Time Zone: Nelson lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Area Codes for Nelson: 205 & 659<3>
Communities Also Named Nelson ...
While we believe that this Nelson is located in Shelby County, we know of another 2 Alabama communities named Nelson. Those communities are located in the following counties: Chambers and Mobile County.
Beyond Alabama, there are 52 communities that are also named Nelson - they are located in Arizona (2), Arkansas, British Columbia, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho (3), Illinois (2), Indiana, Iowa, Kansas (2), Kentucky (3), Louisiana, Manitoba, Maryland (2), Michigan (2), Minnesota, Missouri, Montana (2), Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York (2), North Carolina, Ohio (2), Oklahoma, Ontario, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia (2), Washington (2), West Virginia and Wisconsin.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Nelson.
Communities near Nelson ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Nelson.
- Hoover
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Alabaster
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alabaster have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alabaster
- Alabaster is located in Shelby County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 33,701 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alabaster <4>
- Pelham
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pelham have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham
- Pelham is located in Shelby County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 24,231 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pelham <4>
- Helena
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Helena have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
- Helena is located in Shelby County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 20,374 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Helena <4>
- Calera
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Chelsea
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Sylacauga
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Montevallo
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Childersburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Indian Springs Village
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Springs Village have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Springs Village
- Indian Springs Village is located in Shelby County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,628 people
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Nelson. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Nelson.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Nelson. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Nelson.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Nelson. See our Newspapers Page for Nelson.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Nelson ...
Looking for more information about Nelson? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Nelson, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Nelson.
Adding Nelson to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Nelson in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Nelson was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<6>
From that list, the Nelson post office opened in 1857.
We also found Nelson on a map titled Rand McNally Map of Alabama (1911).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Nelson.
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Alabama's counties, including Shelby, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Nelson - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <3> | When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 205 code has been Overlayed with the 659 area code. New phone numbers in the Nelson area will be assigned with one of these codes: 205 or 659. As a result, placing a call in the Nelson area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number). |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <6> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at:
https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |