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History · Symsonia

Symsonia’s post office opened in 1847, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Symsonia was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Its Register listing is the Pete Lyles House. Below: maps from 1936 on.

1847first post office
1on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Symsonia began

When was Symsonia founded?

1847

The Symsonia post office opened in 1847, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 622179 years
Founding year: the first Symsonia post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Symsonia’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 Symsonia are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsA post office since 1847: 179 years of Symsonia.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Symsonia’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Symsonia’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
The story so far

Symsonia, in brief

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

Symsonia is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Graves County, Kentucky, United States. The community lies in the far northeastern part of the county, 13 miles (21 km) southeast of Paducah, 11 miles (18 km) northwest of Benton, and 15 miles (24 km) northeast of the county seat Mayfield, in the Jackson Purchase region of the state. As of the 2020 census, Symsonia had a population of 622.

Its first post office opened in 1847. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 615 in 2010, 622 in 2020.

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

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Symsonia on the map, 1936 to 1982

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

Symsonia on the 1936 USGS mapSymsonia on the 1951 USGS mapSymsonia on the 1968 USGS mapSymsonia on the 1982 USGS map1936Symsonia 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 Symsonia.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Symsonia

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
2006
Pete Lyles House
Pete Lyles House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
Pete Lyles HouseGreek Revival

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Symsonia

Nobody well known was born in Symsonia itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Rumer WillisAmerican actress · b. 1988
Leigh-Allyn BakerAmerican actress · b. 1972
M
Molly SimsAmerican actress · b. 1973
John T. ScopesAmerican schoolteacher · b. 1900
Adrian SmithAmerican basketball player · b. 1936
Boots RandolphAmerican musician · b. 1927

Questions about Symsonia’s history

What year was Symsonia founded?

The Symsonia post office opened in 1847, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Symsonia?

One place: the Pete Lyles House (listed 2006).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From the National Register of Historic Places (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.