Most of Hawesville was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. 3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 44 buildings. Below: maps from 1886 on and the census since 1860.
Founding year: the first Hawesville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Hawesville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hawesville is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hawesville’s overall grade.
Kentucky towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Kentucky town has 29.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Hawesville’s 387 sits above most of its state (89% of Kentucky towns have fewer) while its 46 historic buildings outnumber those of 84% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.3 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Hawesville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Hawesville, building by building, 1886–1909
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1886Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Upon the establishment of Hancock County in 1829, local landowner Richard Hawes Sr. (father of Rep. Richard Hawes Jr.) donated land for a county seat, free to any homesteaders who settled there. The Hawesville post office was established later that year. The city was formally established in 1836 and incorporated by the state assembly in 1847.
Despite the Immaculate Conception Church's listing on the National Register of Historic Places, it was demolished and replaced with a modern structure.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Hawesville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1953Tell City 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 Hawesville.
People over time
Hawesville, census by census
Between 790 and 1,262 people in every census since 1860.
17 censuses, 1860–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Hawesville’s Wikipedia page.
Questions about Hawesville’s history
What year was Hawesville founded?
The Hawesville post office opened in 1829, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Hawesville rank for history?
Hawesville is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Hawesville?
Three places: the Hancock County Courthouse (listed 1975), the Immaculate Conception Church (1975) and the Hawesville Historic District (1984).
How old are the homes in Hawesville?
6% of Hawesville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.3 points), against a typical 5.9% for a Kentucky town; the median home was built in 1976.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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