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History · Baileyton

Baileyton dates to 1915, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1935 on and the census since 1920.

1915founded
0on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 3.0
Quick answers

How Baileyton began

When was Baileyton founded?

1915

Baileyton dates its founding to 1915 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1920.

First census: 169 in 19202020 census: 436111 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1833.The full story ↓

What stands out about Baileyton’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 Baileyton are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Baileyton.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Baileyton’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Baileyton’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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Laurel Gap
1833–1892
Baileytown
1892–1937
18301930today

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

The story

How Baileyton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Baileyton.

Read it all →

Originally called "Laurel Gap", the area was first settled in 1776. Many families lived in Laurel Gap, mostly farmers. Then a name change came about and it was called Bailey Town from 1892 until 1915. When the town became incorporated in 1915, the w was dropped and the name changed to "Baileyton", which stems from Claudius and Thomas P. Bailey, two brothers who lived there.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Baileyton, 1833 to 1937

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1833Post officeThe Laurel Gap post office opens
  3. 1892Post officeThe Laurel Gap post office closes
  4. 1892Post officeThe Baileytown post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1915
    FoundingBaileyton is established
  7. 1935On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1937Post officeThe Baileytown post office closes
By decade

Baileyton, decade by decade

Today7 recent
Baileyton-mountains-tn12015Baileyton-mountains-tn1Baileyton-houses-tn12015Baileyton-houses-tn1Baileyton-bench-tn12015Baileyton-bench-tn1Baileyton-Town-Hall-tn12015Baileyton-Town-Hall-tn1Baileyton-THC-marker-tn12015Baileyton-THC-marker-tn1Baileyton-Main-Street-tn12015Baileyton-Main-Street-tn1Baileyton-Horton-Brunner-tn12015Baileyton-Horton-Brunner-tn1
On the map

Baileyton on the map, 1935 to 1971

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

Baileyton on the 1935 USGS mapBaileyton on the 1940 USGS mapBaileyton on the 1971 USGS map1935Baileyton 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 Baileyton.

People over time

Baileyton, census by census

0100200300400500192019401960198020002020Peak: 504

Between 169 and 504 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Questions about Baileyton’s history

What year was Baileyton founded?

In 1915, according to Wikidata. Baileyton’s post office opened in 1833, and the census of 1920 counted 169 people here.

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 (7), Wikipedia, 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.