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BHistory
History · Benton

Benton dates to 1840, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 63% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Benton was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Its Register listings are the Nancy Ward Tomb, the Polk County Courthouse and the William Wiggins House. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1935 on, and the census since 1870.

1840founded
3on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Benton’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Benton began

When was Benton founded?

1840

Benton dates its founding to 1840 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 250 in 18702020 census: 1,523186 years

How historic is Benton?

B

More historic than 63% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1845.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Benton’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Benton is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Benton’s overall grade.
Founding era1840, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19404.7% of homes (±4.1) · typical TN town 4.9% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register3 listings, 19.2 per 10,000 residents · typical TN town 6.1 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 63%
NewerOlder

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 Benton’s 19.2 sits above most of its state (72% of Tennessee towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.1 points). Two sources give 1840.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Benton’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1870 and 1890, then grew 9-fold.Deep rootsEstablished in 1840: 186 years of Benton.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Benton’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Benton’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewRed Cross- Junior Auxiliary of Polk Co.…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Benton, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,60018801900192019401960198020002020250 in 1870Low: 165

Lost a third of its people between 1870 and 1890, then grew 9-fold.

10 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Timeline

Benton, 1840 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1840
    FoundingBenton is established
  3. 1845Post officeThe Benton post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1910In the archiveRed Cross- Junior Auxiliary of Polk Co. High School, Benton, Tennessee LOC hec.13924
  6. 1923BuiltNancy Ward Tomb is built
  7. 1935On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1937BuiltPolk County Courthouse is built
  9. 21st century
  10. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 1,523
The story

How Benton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Benton.

Read it all →

Benton was founded in 1840 as a county seat for Polk County, which had been established the previous year. The town, originally a trading post known as McKamy's stock stand, was named in honor of politician and US Senator from Missouri, Thomas Hart Benton.

Nancy Ward, a Cherokee known as Nanyehi, was a Beloved Woman, a leader among her people. For many years, she participated in negotiations with the British and Americans. After the American Revolution, she had an inn here and was finally buried here. The Nancy Ward Chapter of the DAR, named in her honor, has marked the graves of her and her son Fivekiller.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Benton, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s2 items
Red Cross- Junior Auxiliary of Polk Co. High School, Benton, Tennessee LOC hec.139241910Red Cross- Junior Auxiliary of Polk Co. High School, …Red Cross: Junior Auxiliary of Polk Co. High School1910Red Cross: Junior Auxiliary of Polk Co. High School
1920s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today7 recent
Volleyball field2011Volleyball fieldHorses along road2011Horses along roadCalvary's Hill trail2011Calvary's Hill trailBridge over forest creek2011Bridge over forest creekBenches above hillside2011Benches above hillsideFort Marr2008Fort MarrBenton-main-drugstore-tn12008Benton-main-drugstore-tn1
On the map

Benton on the map, 1935 to 2003

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

Benton on the 1935 USGS mapBenton on the 1940 USGS mapBenton on the 1967 USGS mapBenton on the 1974 USGS mapBenton on the 2003 USGS map1935Benton 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 Benton.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Red Cross- Junior Auxiliary of Polk Co. High School, Benton, Tennessee LOC hec.13924
Retake this viewRed Cross- Junior Auxiliary of Polk Co. High School, Benton, Tennessee LOC hec.13924, 1910

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Benton’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Benton

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1973
Nancy Ward Tomb
Nancy Ward Tomb, built 1923Polk County Courthouse, built 1937William Wiggins House
BuildingsObjects
Nancy Ward TombBuilt 1923
Polk County CourthouseBuilt 1937
William Wiggins HouseBuilding

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

Questions about Benton’s history

What year was Benton founded?

In 1840, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Benton’s post office opened in 1845, and the census of 1870 counted 250 people here.

How does Benton rank for history?

Benton is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns. 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.

What is on the National Register in Benton?

Three places: the Nancy Ward Tomb (listed 1973), the Polk County Courthouse (1993) and the William Wiggins House (1993).

How old are the homes in Benton?

5% of Benton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1986.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (8), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.