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CHistory
History · Lyndon

Lyndon’s post office opened in 1871, and 4 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 27% of U.S. towns · #107 of 142 in Kentucky. What drives it

Most of Lyndon was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. Below: maps from 1905 on and the census since 1970.

1871first post office
4on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Lyndon began

When was Lyndon founded?

1871

The Lyndon post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 460 in 19702020 census: 11,008155 years

How historic is Lyndon?

C

More historic than 27% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Lyndon post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Lyndon’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lyndon is more historic than 27% of U.S. towns, #107 of 142 in Kentucky. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lyndon’s overall grade.
Founding era1871, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19402.3% of homes (±1.2) · typical KY town 5.9% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register4 listings, 3.6 per 10,000 residents · typical KY town 29.9 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 27%
NewerOlder
Kentucky towns of 2,500+ (142)Ahead of 25%

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 Lyndon’s 3.6 sits below most of its state (30% of Kentucky towns have fewer) while its 4 listings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. The pre-1940 share (±1.2 points) is firm at this size. 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 Lyndon’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 Lyndon are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19056 editions of the USGS map, 1905 to 1981. Watch Lyndon change.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lyndon’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Lyndon on the map, 1905 to 1981

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

Lyndon on the 1905 USGS mapLyndon on the 1912 USGS mapLyndon on the 1951 USGS mapLyndon on the 1960 USGS mapLyndon on the 1971 USGS mapLyndon on the 1981 USGS map1905Prospect sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Lyndon.

On the National Register

4 historic places in Lyndon

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1976
Eight-Mile House
Eight-Mile HouseBellevoir-Ormsby VillageMaghera Glass-Ormsby HallLindenberger-Grant House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Italianate1
Georgian Revival1
Greek Revival1
Queen Anne1
Eight-Mile HouseBuilding
Bellevoir-Ormsby VillageItalianate
All 4 listings
Maghera Glass-Ormsby HallBuilding · listed 1980Lindenberger-Grant HouseBuilding · listed 1996

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

The story

How Lyndon came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lyndon.

Read it all →

The area is the home of Oxmoor Farm, the residence of Alexander Scott Bullitt, one of the drafters of Kentucky's first constitution.

At some point after 1865, the Louisville and Nashville Railroad offered local landowner Alvin Wood connection to their network provided that he pay the costs of constructing the station and donate the land for the spur. He did so, and in 1871 the Lyndon depot began service. The town's etymology remains uncertain, although some connect it to Linn's Station and others to explorer William Linn.

The Bellevoir-Ormsby Village was built in 1867 and Kentucky Military Institute moved to the town in 1896. Central State Hospital is also near Lyndon.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Lyndon, 1871 to 1963

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871Post officeThe Lyndon post office opens
  3. 1893Born hereJohn J. Wicker, Jr. is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1905On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1963Post officeThe Lyndon post office closes
By decade

Lyndon, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Pocket foldout map of Warwick Villa.in2022Pocket foldout map of Warwick Villa.inMapPlot map of individual lots in Warwick Villa2022Plot map of individual lots in Warwick VillaMapWOODROADSIGN2008WOODROADSIGNWOODROAD2008WOODROADLYNDONSTREETSCENETOO2008LYNDONSTREETSCENETOOLYNDONSTREETSCEEN2008LYNDONSTREETSCEENLYNDONPO2008LYNDONPOLYNDONMARKER2008LYNDONMARKERLYNDONKYPO2008LYNDONKYPOLYNDONCLOCKTOO2008LYNDONCLOCKTOOLYNDONCLOCK2008LYNDONCLOCKLYNDONCITYHALL2008LYNDONCITYHALL
People over time

Lyndon, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00019802000202011,008

Grew from 460 people in 1970 to 11,008 in 2020, more than tenfold.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Lyndon had its own post office from 1871 to 1963.

Lyndon
1871–1963
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
KeenelandMoorland
Gone or out of use
Lynnwood Treatment Centerbuilding

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

BellemeadeIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNorwoodIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSt. Matthews5 historic placesC+MoorlandIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBriarwoodIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGraymoor-DevondaleIts storyD−Meadowbrook FarmIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWildwood1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Lyndon’s history

What year was Lyndon founded?

The Lyndon post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Lyndon rank for history?

Lyndon is more historic than 27% of U.S. towns, #107 of 142 in Kentucky. 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 Lyndon?

4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Eight-Mile House (listed 1976, the first).

How old are the homes in Lyndon?

2% of Lyndon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.2 points), against a typical 5.9% for a Kentucky town; the median home was built in 1984.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (12), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, 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.