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History · Gracey

Gracey’s post office opened in 1887

Most of Gracey was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1959. Below: 6 old photos and papers and maps from 1953 on.

1887first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Gracey’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Gracey began

When was Gracey founded?

1887

The Gracey post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 117139 years
Founding year: the first Gracey post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Gracey’s past

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

Old housesHalf of Gracey’s homes were built before 1959.
★ What stands out · The story

How Gracey came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Gracey.

Read it all →

Gracey had its start when the railroad was extended to that point. The town was laid out in 1887, and named in honor of Frank P. Gracey, a railroad official. A post office was established at Gracey in 1887.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Gracey, 1887 to 1982

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1887Post officeThe Gracey post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1916In the archive5-year old Jack and 13-year old Bitsey are regular workers on their father's farm. Wormin…
  5. 1953On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1982Post officeThe Gracey post office closes
By decade

Gracey, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s6 items
5-year old Jack and 13-year old Bitsey are regular workers on their father's farm. Worming and suckering now. Bitsey go…19165-year old Jack and 13-year old Bitsey are regular wo…5-year old Jack and 13-year old Bitsey are regular workers on their father's farm. Worming and suckering now. Bitsey go…19165-year old Jack and 13-year old Bitsey are regular wo…5-year old Jack and 13-year old Bitsey are regular workers on their father's farm. Worming and suckering now. Bitsey go…19165-year old Jack and 13-year old Bitsey are regular wo…5-year old Jack and 13-year old Bitsey are regular workers on their father's farm. Worming and suckering now. Bitsey go…19165-year old Jack and 13-year old Bitsey are regular wo…5-year old Jack and 13-year old Bitsey are regular workers on their father's farm. Worming and suckering now. Bitsey go…19165-year old Jack and 13-year old Bitsey are regular wo…Charlie Howard, a colored tenant on farm of B.F. Mitchell, R. 1, and his 2 boys. Robbie is 6 and Willie is 11 years old…1916Charlie Howard, a colored tenant on farm of B.F. Mitc…
1920s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
On the map

Gracey on the map, 1953 to 1980

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

Gracey on the 1953 USGS mapGracey on the 1974 USGS mapGracey on the 1980 USGS map1953Gracey 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 Gracey.

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.

5-year old Jack and 13-year old Bitsey are regular workers on their father's farm. Worming and suckering now. Bitsey go…
Retake this view5-year old Jack and 13-year old Bitsey are regular workers on their father's farm. Worming and suckering now. Bitsey go…, 1916

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Gracey

Nobody well known was born in Gracey itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Jefferson DavisPresident of the Confederate States from 1861 t… · b. 1808
bell hooksAmerican author and activist · b. 1952
Robert Penn WarrenAmerican poet, novelist, and literary critic · b. 1905
Steve Beshear61st governor of Kentucky · b. 1944
Demetrious JohnsonAmerican mixed martial artist · b. 1986
Terry BissonAmerican science fiction and fantasy author · b. 1942
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Gracey had its own post office from 1887 to 1982.

Gracey
1887–1982
18801950today

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

Help out

Finish Gracey’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view5-year old Jack and 13-year old Bitsey …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Gracey’s history

What year was Gracey founded?

The Gracey post office opened in 1887, 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 the Library of Congress (6), 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.