On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Biltmore is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Biltmore’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 Biltmore’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 two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.4 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Biltmore’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Biltmore yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Biltmore is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Carter County, Tennessee. It was first listed as a CDP prior to the 2020 census. It is in the northwest part of the county, with the city of Elizabethton, the county seat, bordering it to the south, across the Watauga River. Tennessee State Route 400 runs through the southern part of the community, leading south into Elizabethton and west 5 miles (8 km) to Watauga. U.S. Route 19E runs along the northeast edge of Biltmore, leading north 7 miles (11 km) to U.S. Route 19W at Bluff City and south through Elizabethton 25 miles (40 km) to Elk Park, North Carolina. Biltmore is drained by Lacy Hollow, Campbell Branch, and …
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Biltmore is more historic than 26% 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.
How old are the homes in Biltmore?
10% of Biltmore’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.4 points), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1971.
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 the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
