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History · Turkey

Turkey’s post office opened in 1889

Most of Turkey was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. Below: maps from 1984 on and the census since 1920.

1889first post office
0on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Gerry Dincher · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Turkey began

When was Turkey founded?

1889

The Turkey post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 146 in 19202020 census: 213137 years
Founding year: the first Turkey post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Turkey’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 Turkey are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 417 in 1980; 213 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Turkey’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Turkey’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
People over time

Turkey, census by census

0100200300400192019401960198020002020Peak: 417

Peaked at 417 in 1980; 213 people lived here in 2020.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

The story

How Turkey came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Turkey.

Read it all →

The name of the town was once Springville. During the town's early history, a large group of wild turkey moved into the area, and the people regarded that as a sign. The town's post office sometimes has received mail intended for the Republic of Turkey. At one time, the post office received letters from stamp collectors asking for a Thanksgiving Day postmark.

Cherrydale and the Hollingsworth-Hines Farm were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Turkey, 1889 to 1984

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1889Post officeThe Turkey post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1953Born hereHarry Boomer is born here
  5. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 417
  6. 1984On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Turkey, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Turkey Water Tower2020Turkey Water TowerTurkey Post Office2019Turkey Post OfficeNCMap-doton-Turkey2004NCMap-doton-Turkey
On the map

Turkey on the map in 1984

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Turkey.

Turkey on the 1984 USGS map1984Turkey 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 Turkey.

Questions about Turkey’s history

What year was Turkey founded?

The Turkey post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (3), 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.