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History · White Plains

White Plains dates to 1853, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of White Plains was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Its Register listing is the Frederick Miller House. Below: maps from 1912 on and the census since 1880.

1853founded
1on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How White Plains began

When was White Plains founded?

1853

White Plains dates its founding to 1853 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 35 in 18802020 census: 829173 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1874.The full story ↓

What stands out about White Plains’ 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 White Plains are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19123 editions of the USGS map, 1912 to 1963. Watch White Plains change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start White Plains’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how White Plains’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

White Plains on the map, 1912 to 1963

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

White Plains on the 1912 USGS mapWhite Plains on the 1953 USGS mapWhite Plains on the 1963 USGS map1912Nortonville 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 White Plains.

The story

How White Plains came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of White Plains.

Read it all →

White Plains was established in 1853, and was originally known as "Little Prairie." With the arrival of the railroad in 1870, Little Prairie became the shipping point for a community then known as "White Plains" (modern Fruit Hill) further to the south in Christian County, and thus became known as "White Plains Station," or "New White Plains." When the postmaster of the Christian County community renamed it "Fruit Hill," the "New" was dropped from the name of the Hopkins County city.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

White Plains, 1853 to 1912

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1853
    FoundingWhite Plains is established
  3. 1874Post officeThe White Plains post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1905Born hereAddie McPhail is born here
  6. 1912On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

White Plains, decade by decade

Today5 recent
White-Plains-caboose-ky2018White-Plains-caboose-kyWhite-Plains-Trail-ky2018White-Plains-Trail-kyWhite-Plains-Noe-Grocery-ky2018White-Plains-Noe-Grocery-kyWhite-Plains-City-Hall-ky2018White-Plains-City-Hall-kyWhite-Plains-Bob-Bruce-Dr2018White-Plains-Bob-Bruce-Dr
On the National Register

1 historic place in White Plains

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1988
Frederick Miller House
Frederick Miller House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Double Cell1
All 1 listings
Frederick Miller HouseBuilding · listed 1988

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

People over time

White Plains, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 884

Between 35 and 884 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old corners

White Plains’s post office has been open since 1874.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Mount Carmel

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

Questions about White Plains’ history

What year was White Plains founded?

In 1853, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. White Plains’ post office opened in 1874, and the census of 1880 counted 35 people here.

What is on the National Register in White Plains?

One place: the Frederick Miller House (listed 1988).

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 Wikimedia Commons (5), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.