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C+History
History · Sebree

Sebree dates to 1868, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 39% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Sebree was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Its Register listing is the McMullin-Warren House. Below: maps from 1903 on and the census since 1880.

1868founded
1on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Sebree began

When was Sebree founded?

1868

Sebree dates its founding to 1868 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 360 in 18802020 census: 1,574158 years

How historic is Sebree?

C+

More historic than 39% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1870.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Sebree’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sebree is more historic than 39% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Sebree’s overall grade.
Founding era1868, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19408.5% of homes (±5.9) · typical KY town 5.9% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register1 listing, 2 historic buildings, 11.0 per 10,000 residents · typical KY town 29.9 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 39%
NewerOlder

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 Sebree’s 11.0 sits near the middle of its state (41% of Kentucky towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±5.9 points). Two sources give 1868.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Sebree’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 Sebree are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19064 editions of the USGS map, 1906 to 1969. Watch Sebree change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Sebree’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Sebree’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

Sebree on the map, 1906 to 1969

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

Sebree on the 1906 USGS mapSebree on the 1949 USGS mapSebree on the 1951 USGS mapSebree on the 1969 USGS map1906Sebree 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 Sebree.

The story

How Sebree came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Sebree.

Read it all →

Sebree was founded as a railroad town in 1868, just ahead of the arrival of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad in October. The town founders, William Scott and Col. E.G. Sebree, intended to name it Springdale after nearby natural springs, but the name was preëmpted by another community in Mason County. The post office was initially named McBride, but renamed for Col. Sebree (the first president of the St. Bernard Mining Company) in 1870 for his assistance in bringing the railroad to this part of the state.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Sebree, 1868 to 1906

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1868
    FoundingSebree is established
  3. 1870Post officeThe Sebree post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1906On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Sebree, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Sebree, Kentucky2018Sebree, KentuckySebree, Kentucky buildings 4-11-20142014Sebree, Kentucky buildings 4-11-2014Sebree, Kentucky 4-11-20142014Sebree, Kentucky 4-11-2014KYMap-doton-Sebree2004KYMap-doton-Sebree
Every building

Sebree, building by building, 1903–1909

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.

Sebree fire insurance map, 1903, sheet 11903Sheet 1 of 3
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Sebree

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1988
McMullin-Warren House
McMullin-Warren House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Queen Anne1
McMullin-Warren HouseQueen Anne

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

People over time

Sebree, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,60018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,603

Between 360 and 1,603 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Questions about Sebree’s history

What year was Sebree founded?

In 1868, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Sebree’s post office opened in 1870, and the census of 1880 counted 360 people here.

How does Sebree rank for history?

Sebree is more historic than 39% 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 Sebree?

One place: the McMullin-Warren House (listed 1988).

How old are the homes in Sebree?

9% of Sebree’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.9 points), against a typical 5.9% for a Kentucky town; the median home was built in 1976.

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 (4), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.