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–Not graded
History · Blanche

Blanche’s post office opened in 1870, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1936 on.

1870first post office
0on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Blanche began

When was Blanche founded?

1870

The Blanche post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Pleasant Plains (1847), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 310156 years
Founding year: the first Blanche post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Blanche’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 Blanche are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Blanche’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Blanche’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
The story so far

Blanche, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Blanche yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Blanche is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Lincoln County, Tennessee, United States. It was first listed as a CDP prior to the 2020 census. It is in the southwest part of the county and is bordered to the southeast by Taft. Tennessee State Route 110 passes through Blanche, leading southwest 7 miles (11 km) to Ardmore and northeast 18 miles (29 km) to Fayetteville, the Lincoln county seat. The east side of Blanche drains to Pinnel Creek, and the west side drains Kelly Creek; both creeks flow north to the Elk River, a southwest-flowing tributary of the Tennessee River. The south part of the CDP drains to Limestone Creek, which flows south to the Tennessee Rive…

Its first post office opened in 1870.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Blanche, 1847 to 1959

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1847Post officeThe Pleasant Plains post office opens
  3. 1866Post officeThe Pleasant Plains post office closes
  4. 1870Post officeThe Blanche post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1936On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1959Post officeThe Blanche post office closes
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.
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On the map

Blanche on the map, 1936 to 1982

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

Blanche on the 1936 USGS mapBlanche on the 1951 USGS mapBlanche on the 1966 USGS mapBlanche on the 1982 USGS map1936Dellrose 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 Blanche.

Famous people

Famous people close to Blanche

Nobody well known was born in Blanche itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
J
Jimmy WalesCo-founder of Wikipedia · b. 1966
Debby RyanAmerican singer and actress · b. 1993
Tallulah BankheadAmerican actress · b. 1902
Michael E. BrownAmerican planetary astronomer · b. 1965
F
Felicia DayAmerican actress · b. 1979
Kim DickensAmerican actress · b. 1965
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Blanche had its own post office from 1870 to 1959. Another post office, Pleasant Plains, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Pleasant Plains
1847–1866
Blanche
1870–1959
18401930today
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Blanche
AbernathyCarpenterCarpenter

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

TaftIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Blanche’s history

What year was Blanche founded?

The Blanche post office opened in 1870, 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 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.