History

The Hardin family, the first to settle on the current location of Odenville, moved there in 1824 and established a blacksmithing/cabinet-making business, giving the settlement its initial name: Hardin's Shop. The first school, consisting of one room, was built in 1864. The first post office was established in 1874, and the name of the town changed to Odenville, probably after a local family or a member of that family. The area's economy was centered on agriculture, primarily cotton and produce. The first cotton gin was built there in the early 1890s.

The Seaboard Railroad began constructing a line through Odenville in 1901, finishing it in 1905. A new multi-room schoolhouse was constructed in 1906. The first bank in town was established in 1908, and the first telephone service came around 1912. Odenville incorporated in 1914, after a failed attempt to do so in 1910. Odenville was chosen as the site of St. Clair County's first high school in 1908, which was completed by 1909. Students who lived too far to make the trip daily boarded at a local hotel. This high school served the area until 1962, when it was condemned and a new one was built.