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BHistory
History · Middletown

Middletown’s post office opened in 1809, and 11 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 56% of U.S. towns · #73 of 142 in Kentucky. What drives it

Most of Middletown was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1997. Below: maps from 1951 on and the census since 1870.

1809first post office
11on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Middletown began

When was Middletown founded?

1809

The Middletown post office opened in 1809, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 244 in 18702020 census: 9,706217 years

How historic is Middletown?

B

More historic than 56% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Middletown’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Middletown is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #73 of 142 in Kentucky. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Middletown’s overall grade.
Founding era1809, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19403.0% of homes (±1.9) · typical KY town 5.9% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register11 listings, 16 historic buildings, 16.4 per 10,000 residents · typical KY town 29.9 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 56%
NewerOlder
Kentucky towns of 2,500+ (142)Ahead of 49%

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 Middletown’s 16.4 sits near the middle of its state (44% of Kentucky towns have fewer) while its 16 historic buildings outnumber those of 78% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share (±1.9 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 Middletown’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 Middletown are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Landmarks on the Register11 places on the National Register.Deep rootsA post office since 1809: 217 years of Middletown.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Middletown’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Middletown’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 National Register

11 historic places in Middletown

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

places listed
11
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
16
each building in a district counts
first listed
1974
Head House
Head HouseAbell HouseHenry Frank HouseMiddletown United Methodist ChurchWilliam Bull HouseBank of MiddletownDavis TavernMiddletown InnBeynroth HouseGeorge B. Yenowine HouseJefferson Marders House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Federal3
Colonial Revival1
Gothic Revival1
Greek Revival1
Head HouseBuilding
Abell HouseFederal
Henry Frank HouseColonial Revival
Middletown United Methodist ChurchGothic Revival
William Bull HouseGreek Revival
Bank of MiddletownBuilding
Davis TavernFederal
Middletown InnBuilding
All 11 listings
Beynroth HouseBuilding · listed 1984George B. Yenowine HouseBuilding · listed 1980Jefferson Marders HouseBuilding · listed 1983

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

Timeline

Middletown, 1809 to 1968

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1809Post officeThe Middletown post office opens
  3. 1842Born hereEdward Y. Parsons is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1905Born hereFrank Pearce is born here
  6. 1908Born hereLawrence Wetherby is born here
  7. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1968Post officeThe Middletown post office closes
The story

How Middletown came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Middletown.

Read it all →

The City of Middletown was originally incorporated in 1797 by the Jefferson County Court on 500 acres of land lying on a branch of the forks of Beargrass Creek that originally belonged to Jacob Meyers and Culberth Harrison. Though there is no recorded explanation why the city was named Middletown, it is commonly believed that that name was chosen because the town was in the "middle" of the two older cities of Louisville which was founded June 24, 1778, and Shelbyville, which was founded December 20, 1792. In 1871 the Kentucky General Assembly amended the original charter to increase Middletown's boundaries.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Middletown, decade by decade

Today13 recent
Middletown welcome sign2020Middletown welcome signMiddletown police2020Middletown policeStreet Clock at Night 20162016Street Clock at Night 2016Middletown UMC, front2014Middletown UMC, frontJefferson Marders House site2014Jefferson Marders House siteHenry Frank House in2014Henry Frank House inHead House2014Head HouseDavis Tavern in2014Davis Tavern inBeynroth House2014Beynroth HouseBank of Middletown from southeast2014Bank of Middletown from southeastMWTNPicture 0392008MWTNPicture 039MTWNPicture 0442008MTWNPicture 044MTWNPicture 0352008MTWNPicture 035
On the map

Middletown on the map, 1951 to 1982

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

Middletown on the 1951 USGS mapMiddletown on the 1960 USGS mapMiddletown on the 1971 USGS mapMiddletown on the 1982 USGS map1951Jeffersontown 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 Middletown.

People over time

Middletown, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,000188019001920194019601980200020209,706

Grew from 244 people in 1870 to 9,706 in 2020, more than tenfold.

7 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Middletown

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

See all →
Lawrence WetherbyAmerican politician · b. 1908
Edward Y. ParsonsAmerican politician · b. 1842
F
Frank PearceAmerican baseball player · b. 1905
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Middletown had its own post office from 1809 to 1968.

Middletown
1809–1968
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Woodland Hills

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.

Douglass HillsIts storyD−Anchorage33 historic placesB+Jeffersontown9 historic placesB−

Questions about Middletown’s history

What year was Middletown founded?

The Middletown post office opened in 1809, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Middletown rank for history?

Middletown is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #73 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 Middletown?

11 listings: 11 buildings, among them the Head House (listed 1974, the first). 16 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Middletown?

3% of Middletown’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.9 points), against a typical 5.9% for a Kentucky town; the median home was built in 1997.

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 (13), Wikidata (5), the National Register of Historic Places (11), 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.