The story
Read it all →How Dennard came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Dennard.
Dennard's post office was established in 1886. It first appeared as a census-designated place in the 2010 census.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Dennard
Dennard’s post office opened in 1886
Most of Dennard was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Below: maps from 1892 on.
1886first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Dennard began
When was Dennard founded?
1886
The Dennard post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name. Five smaller post offices, Oak Flat (1873), Retreat (1902) and Rumley (1907), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 496140 years
Founding year: the first Dennard post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Dennard’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost villages5 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Dennard, and 4 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Dennard are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18924 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1983. Watch Dennard change.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Dennard’s post office has been open since 1886. Five other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Oak Flat
Dennard
Retreat
Rumley
Rockyhill
Botkinburg
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BotkinburgOak FlatRocky HillRumley
Gone or out of use
Dennard Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Dennard
DennardLunceford
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Start Dennard’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Dennard’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Dennard on the map, 1892 to 1983
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Dennard. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1892Marshall sheet · 1:125,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Dennard.
Timeline
Dennard, 1873 to 1926
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1873Post officeThe Oak Flat post office opens
- 1886Post officeThe Dennard post office opens
- 1892
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 20th century
- 1902Post officeThe Retreat post office opens
- 1914Post officeThe Retreat post office closes
- 1926Post officeThe Oak Flat post office closes
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your albumFamous people
See all →Famous people close to Dennard
Nobody well known was born in Dennard itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
J
John HargisAmerican swimmer · b. 1975
B
Bobby BurnettAmerican football player · b. 1943J
Jesse Smith HenleyUnited States federal judge · b. 1917Questions about Dennard’s history
What year was Dennard founded?
The Dennard post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.