The Apison post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Zion Hill (1848) and Howardville (1887), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 4,428144 years
How historic is Apison?
C−
More historic than 20% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Apison post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Apison’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Apison is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #146 of 177 in Tennessee. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Apison’s overall grade.
Tennessee towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Tennessee town has 6.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Apison’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (16% of Tennessee towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Apison’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In 1881, the railroad came through a small settlement, now known as Apison, that had previously had its mail delivered by horse and buggy. The town then was known as O'Brian that was assigned by the railroad officials. The name was later changed because of another Tennessee town already having the same name. Due to the large deposits of Apison shale rock found along the railroad tracks, the town was renamed to its current name.
In 2001, the old Apison Elementary School was turned into a Tres Dias retreat center.
The Apison post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Apison rank for history?
Apison is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #146 of 177 in Tennessee. 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.
How old are the homes in Apison?
5% of Apison’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.1 points), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1998.
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 Wikipedia, 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.
