Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 21 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1870.
The Chilhowee post office opened in 1859, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Simpson's Store (1855), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Chilhowee’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Chilhowee. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Chilhowee.
Lost half of its people between 1870 and 1880, then grew 3-fold.
14 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Chilhowee’s Wikipedia page.
From Wikipedia’s history of Chilhowee.
Chilhowee was originally called Simpson's Store, and under the latter name was founded in the mid-1850s, and named after James Simpson, a local merchant. A post office called Chilhowee has been in operation since 1859. The present name is of Native American origin.
The Chilhowee Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Chilhowee, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Chilhowee Village. ( By William Sweeney. ) The village of Chilhowee was an accident. .\ man named James Simpson had bought a small frame house from a William Johnson and undertook to mo\-e it to a claim that he intended to "enter.'" It was placed upon ox wagons ancT was moved to the spot where the old town now is when something broke down and the house was then unloaded and Mr. Simpson put in a small stock of goods, and it was then called Simpson's store. This was about 1855 or 1^856.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Rose Hill township, located in the southwestern corner of Johnson county, was originally a part of Madison township when that subdivision was organized in 1835 and subsequently was part of Chilhowee township, and was organized August 17, 1869, from Chilhowee township. It was named from Rose Hill village, and the village is said to have been named from the abundance of wild roses that grew on the little hillsides of what came to be called Rose hill, and greeted the first settlers in the spring of 1832. In 1842 the town was laid out by Garrett
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Missouri - Johnson County - ED 51-1, ED 5…
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyOne decade in the archive so far: the 1850s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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 sheet.
1916Sheet 1 of 1Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Chilhowee’s page.
Retake this view · +15The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Chilhowee’s post office has been open since 1859. Another post office, Simpson's Store, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Chilhowee post office opened in 1859, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
One place: the Chilhowee Historic District (listed 1988).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (6), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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