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B−History
History · Simpsonville

Simpsonville dates to 1816, and 9 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 48% of U.S. towns · #85 of 142 in Kentucky. What drives it

Most of Simpsonville was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2001. 9 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Whitney M. Young Jr. Birthplace, a National Historic Landmark, and a historic district with 3 buildings. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1929 on, and the census since 1830.

1816founded
9on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Simpsonville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Simpsonville began

When was Simpsonville founded?

1816

Simpsonville dates its founding to 1816 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1830.

First census: 77 in 18302020 census: 2,990210 years

How historic is Simpsonville?

B−

More historic than 48% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1821.
History grade

What drives Simpsonville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Simpsonville is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #85 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 Simpsonville’s overall grade.
Founding era1816, from Wikipedia: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19400.0% of homes (±1.0) · typical KY town 5.9% · U.S. 8.4%D−National Register9 listings, 12 historic buildings, 39.2 per 10,000 residents · typical KY town 29.9 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 48%
NewerOlder
Kentucky towns of 2,500+ (142)Ahead of 40%

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 Simpsonville’s 39.2 sits near the middle of its state (54% of Kentucky towns have fewer) while its 12 historic buildings outnumber those of 77% 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 (±1.0 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1816.

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 Simpsonville’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1890 and 1930, then grew more than tenfold.A National Historic Landmark9 places on the National Register, including Whitney M. Young Jr. Birthplace, a National Historic Landmark.Deep rootsEstablished in 1816: 210 years of Simpsonville.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Simpsonville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewSchool Simpsonville Kentucky 1923: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Simpsonville, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0001850190019502000290 in 1890Low: 181

Lost a third of its people between 1890 and 1930, then grew more than tenfold.

19 censuses, 1830–2020.

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

On the National Register

9 historic places in Simpsonville

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
9
National Historic Landmark
1
Whitney M. Young Jr. Birthplace
historic buildings protected
12
each building in a district counts
first listed
1972
Whitney M. Young Jr. Birthplace
WicklandBank of SimpsonvilleLincoln Institute ComplexSimpsonville Christian ChurchSimpsonville Methodist ChurchOld Stone InnBryan HouseWright HouseWhitney M. Young Jr. Birthplace★
BuildingsDistricts★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Victorian Gothic2
Classical Revival1
Commercial1
Tudor Revival1
Antebellum Vernacular1
Vernacular1
★ Landmark
Whitney M. Young Jr. BirthplaceBuilding
WicklandClassical Revival
Bank of SimpsonvilleCommercial
Lincoln Institute ComplexTudor Revival
Simpsonville Christian ChurchVictorian Gothic
Simpsonville Methodist ChurchVictorian Gothic
All 9 listings
Old Stone InnBuilding · listed 1976Bryan HouseBuilding · listed 1988Wright HouseBuilding · listed 1988

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

The story so far

Simpsonville, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Simpsonville yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Simpsonville is a home rule-class city in Shelby County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is located 8 miles west of Shelbyville, Kentucky and 23 miles east of Louisville situated along U.S. 60. As of the 2020 census, Simpsonville had a population of 2,990.

Simpsonville was established in 1816. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 2,484 to 2,990 (+20%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Simpsonville, 1816 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1816
    FoundingSimpsonville is established
  3. 1821Post officeThe Simpsonville post office opens
  4. 1889Post officeThe Veechdale post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1920Post officeThe Veechdale post office closes
  7. 1923In the archiveSchool Simpsonville Kentucky 1923
  8. 1929On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1933In the archiveSOUTHEAST VIEW OF 2-3 REAR ELEVATION - Whitney M. Young, Jr. Birthplace, U.S. Route 60
  10. 1941Born hereFrances Smith Strickland is born here
  11. 1948Born hereMike Casey is born here
  12. 1984LandmarkWhitney M. Young Jr. Birthplace named a National Historic Landmark
  13. 21st century
  14. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 2,990
By decade

Simpsonville, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1920s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s–1930s4 items
School Simpsonville Kentucky 19231923School Simpsonville Kentucky 1923SOUTHEAST VIEW OF 2-3 REAR ELEVATION - Whitney M. Young, Jr. Birthplace, U.S. Route 601933SOUTHEAST VIEW OF 2-3 REAR ELEVATION - Whitney M. You…WEST VIEW OF FACADE ELEVATION - Whitney M. Young, Jr. Birthplace, U.S. Route 601933WEST VIEW OF FACADE ELEVATION - Whitney M. Young, Jr.…WEST VIEW OF FACADE WINDOW AND PORCH - Whitney M. Young, Jr. Birthplace, U.S. Route 601933WEST VIEW OF FACADE WINDOW AND PORCH - Whitney M. You…
1940s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today2 recent
Bank of Simpsonville, KY 19022005Bank of Simpsonville, KY 1902KYMap-doton-Simpsonville2004KYMap-doton-Simpsonville
On the map

Simpsonville on the map, 1929 to 1978

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

Simpsonville on the 1929 USGS mapSimpsonville on the 1954 USGS mapSimpsonville on the 1960 USGS mapSimpsonville on the 1978 USGS map1929Taylorsville 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 Simpsonville.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

School Simpsonville Kentucky 1923
Retake this viewSchool Simpsonville Kentucky 1923, 1923

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Simpsonville’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Simpsonville

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

See all →
M
Mike CaseyAmerican basketball player · b. 1948
F
Frances Smith StricklandAmerican psychologist · b. 1941
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Simpsonville’s post office has been open since 1821. Another post office, Veechdale, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Simpsonville
1821–today
Veechdale
1889–1920
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Veechdale
Gone or out of use
Veechdale Post Officepost officeVeechdale Railroad Stationlocale

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

Questions about Simpsonville’s history

What year was Simpsonville founded?

In 1816, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Simpsonville’s post office opened in 1821, and the census of 1830 counted 77 people here.

How does Simpsonville rank for history?

Simpsonville is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #85 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 Simpsonville?

9 listings: 8 buildings, among them the Whitney M. Young Jr. Birthplace (a National Historic Landmark since 1984), and 1 historic district, the Lincoln Institute Complex, with 3 contributing buildings. 12 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Simpsonville?

0.0% of Simpsonville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.0 points), against a typical 5.9% for a Kentucky town; the median home was built in 2001.

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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (9), 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.