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History · Dixon

Dixon’s post office opened in 1860, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Webster County Courthouse. Below: 1 old photo or paper.

1860first post office
1on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Dixon’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Dixon began, and where its name came from

When was Dixon founded?

1860

The Dixon post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 933166 years

How did Dixon get its name?

The town was incorporated on February 6, 1861, and was named after Archibald Dixon, lieutenant governor of the state from 1844 to 1848 and U.S. Senator from 1852 to 1855).

Founding year: the first Dixon post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Dixon’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Dixon’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewMitchell-Griggs Road Bridge, Spannning …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Dixon came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Dixon.

Read it all →

Revolutionary War veteran William Jenkins in 1794 established a stagecoach inn five miles (8 km) north of the town's present site on the old Indian trail between Nashville and St. Louis.

The town was incorporated on February 6, 1861, and was named after Archibald Dixon, lieutenant governor of the state from 1844 to 1848 and U.S. Senator from 1852 to 1855). The notorious Harpe brothers, murderous outlaws, terrorized the area in the late 18th century.

The downtown area has several historic homes and was the site of a number of Civil War skirmishes.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Dixon, 1860 to 1938

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1860Post officeThe Dixon post office opens
  3. 1870Born hereLaban Lacy Rice is born here
  4. 1872Born hereCale Young Rice is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1938BuiltWebster County Courthouse is built
By decade

Dixon, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Mitchell-Griggs Road Bridge, Spannning Caney Fork on Mitchell-Griggs RoadDate?Mitchell-Griggs Road Bridge, Spannning Caney Fork on …
Today2 recent
Webster County Courthouse Kentucky2008Webster County Courthouse KentuckyKYMap-doton-Dixon2004KYMap-doton-Dixon
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Mitchell-Griggs Road Bridge, Spannning Caney Fork on Mitchell-Griggs Road
Retake this viewMitchell-Griggs Road Bridge, Spannning Caney Fork on Mitchell-Griggs Road

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Dixon’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Dixon

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1991
Webster County Courthouse
Webster County Courthouse, built 1938
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Moderne1
Webster County CourthouseModerne · Built 1938

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Dixon

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

See all →
Cale Young RiceAmerican writer · b. 1872
L
Laban Lacy RiceAmerican academic administrator · b. 1870

Questions about Dixon’s history

What year was Dixon founded?

The Dixon post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Dixon?

One place: the Webster County Courthouse (listed 1991).

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 (2), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.