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History · Clarkson

Clarkson’s post office opened in 1882

Most of Clarkson was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: maps from 1954 on and the census since 1910.

1882first post office
0on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
1famous people
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Quick answers

How Clarkson began

When was Clarkson founded?

1882

The Clarkson post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 376 in 19102020 census: 933144 years
Founding year: the first Clarkson post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Clarkson’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 Clarkson are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Clarkson’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Clarkson, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Clarkson yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Clarkson is a home rule-class city in Grayson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 933 at the 2020 census, up from 875 at the 2010 census, Once called "Grayson Springs Depot" after a nearby resort, the name was changed in 1882 to honor the resort's owner, Manoah Clarkson. Clarkson is known for its Honeyfest and is home to The Walter T. Kelley Company, a manufacturer of beekeeping equipment.

Its first post office opened in 1882. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 875 to 933 (+7%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Clarkson, 1882 to 1954

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1882Post officeThe Clarkson post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1946Born hereRonald Edward Meredith is born here
  5. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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.

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On the map

Clarkson on the map, 1954 to 1967

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

Clarkson on the 1954 USGS mapClarkson on the 1967 USGS map1954Clarkson 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 Clarkson.

People over time

Clarkson, census by census

02004006008001,000192019401960198020002020933

Grew from 376 people in 1910 to 933 in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Leitchfield4 historic placesC+

Questions about Clarkson’s history

What year was Clarkson founded?

The Clarkson post office opened in 1882, 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 →
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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 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.