Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Paint Rock

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Paint Rock

Paint Rock’s post office opened in 1825

Most of Paint Rock was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1969. Below: maps from 1936 on and the census since 1880.

1825first post office
0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Paint Rock began

When was Paint Rock founded?

1825

The Paint Rock post office opened in 1825, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Camden (1831) and Redman (1846), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 41 in 18802020 census: 182201 years
Founding year: the first Paint Rock post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Paint Rock’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Paint Rock are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 534 in 1910; 182 people lived here in 2020.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Paint Rock.Deep rootsA post office since 1825: 201 years of Paint Rock.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Paint Rock’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Paint Rock’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Paint Rock, census by census

010020030040050018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 534

Peaked at 534 in 1910; 182 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Paint Rock’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Paint Rock’s post office has been open since 1825. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Paint Rock
1825–today
Camden
1831–1846
Redman
1846–1864
18201920today
1cemetery inside Paint Rock
Paint Rock

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Paint Rock came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Paint Rock.

Read it all →

Paint Rock was settled in the 1820s, and was initially known as "Camden." A post office was established in 1836, and a railroad depot was constructed in 1856. The name was changed from Camden to "Paint Rock" in 1876.

Ray Albright (1934-2017), Tennessee state legislator and businessman, was born in Paint Rock.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Paint Rock, 1825 to 1942

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1825Post officeThe Paint Rock post office opens
  3. 1831Post officeThe Camden post office opens
  4. 1846Post officeThe Camden post office closes
  5. 1846Post officeThe Redman post office opens
  6. 1864Post officeThe Redman post office closes
  7. 20th century
  8. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 534
  9. 1934Born hereRay Albright is born here
  10. 1936Born hereBob Albright is born here
  11. 1936On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 1942Born hereLu Bain is born here
By decade

Paint Rock, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Paint-Rock-red-white-blue-al2017Paint-Rock-red-white-blue-alPaint-Rock-railroad-tracks-al2017Paint-Rock-railroad-tracks-alPaint-Rock-post-office-al2017Paint-Rock-post-office-alPaint-Rock-US72-al2017Paint-Rock-US72-alPaint-Rock-Seventh-Day-Baptist-al2017Paint-Rock-Seventh-Day-Baptist-al
On the map

Paint Rock on the map, 1936 to 1997

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Paint Rock. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Paint Rock on the 1936 USGS mapPaint Rock on the 1948 USGS mapPaint Rock on the 1950 USGS mapPaint Rock on the 1974 USGS mapPaint Rock on the 1982 USGS mapPaint Rock on the 1997 USGS map1936Paint Rock sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Paint Rock.

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Paint Rock

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
L
Lu BainAmerican gridiron football player · b. 1942
B
Bob AlbrightAmerican politician · b. 1936
R
Ray AlbrightAmerican businessman and politician · b. 1934

Questions about Paint Rock’s history

What year was Paint Rock founded?

The Paint Rock post office opened in 1825, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.