Mayfield dates to 1821, and 6 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 74% of U.S. towns · #45 of 142 in Kentucky. What drives it
Most of Mayfield was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1966. 6 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 98 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1830.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1822.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Mayfield’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mayfield is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #45 of 142 in Kentucky. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mayfield’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 Mayfield’s 101 sits above most of its state (68% of Kentucky towns have fewer) while its 100 historic buildings outnumber those of 89% 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 (±2.9 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1821.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Mayfield’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
Mayfield, building by building, 1886–1916
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.
Mayfield is in the center of the Jackson Purchase, an eight-county region purchased by Isaac Shelby and Andrew Jackson from the Chickasaw people in 1818. Mayfield was established as the county seat of Graves County in 1821, and the county was formally organized in 1823. John Anderson is believed to have been the first white settler, arriving in 1819 and building a log home on Mayfield Creek. In December 1821, Anderson was appointed county court clerk and moved about two and a half miles to the site that became Mayfield. According to Trabue Davis, the town's name originates indirectly from a gambler named Mayfield, who was kidnapped about 1817 at a racetrack near what is now Hickman. He was carried to the site of today's Mayfield, where he carved his name into a tree in hopes that someone would see it. He tried to escape but drowned trying to cross what is now called Mayfield Creek. The …
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.
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.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Mayfield’s history
What year was Mayfield founded?
In 1821, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Mayfield’s post office opened in 1822, and the census of 1830 counted 44 people here.
How does Mayfield rank for history?
Mayfield is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns, #45 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 Mayfield?
6 listings: 2 buildings, 1 historic district, the Mayfield Downtown Commercial District, with 98 contributing buildings, 1 site, and 2 objects. 100 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Mayfield?
7% of Mayfield’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.9 points), against a typical 5.9% for a Kentucky town; the median home was built in 1966.
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 (5), the National Register of Historic Places (6), 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), 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.
2014
2013
2004
