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History · Cedar Hill

Cedar Hill’s post office opened in 1866, and 50% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1956 on, and the census since 1880.

1866first post office
0on the National Register
50%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Cedar Hill’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Cedar Hill began

When was Cedar Hill founded?

1866

The Cedar Hill post office opened in 1866, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 200 in 18802020 census: 301160 years
Founding year: the first Cedar Hill post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Cedar Hill’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.Boom and bustPeaked at 420 in 1980; 301 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Cedar Hill’s homes were built before 1940.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cedar Hill’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewGlen Raven, Washington Road, Cedar Hill…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Cedar Hill, census by census

010020030040018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 420

Peaked at 420 in 1980; 301 people lived here in 2020.

7 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Cedar Hill came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Cedar Hill.

Read it all →

Jo Byrns, who became Speaker of the House of Representatives, was born in Cedar Hill on July 28, 1869. The local elementary school and high school are named for him.

In the 1940s and 1950s Cedar Hill had a population of about 700, with around 10 stores. The economy was based on services to surrounding farmers; the main crop in the area was tobacco.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Cedar Hill, 1866 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1866Post officeThe Cedar Hill post office opens
  3. 1869Born hereJoseph W. Byrns is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1901Born hereFyke Farmer is born here
  6. 1956On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1974In the archiveGlen Raven, Washington Road, Cedar Hill vicinity (Robertson County, Tennessee)
  8. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 420
By decade

Cedar Hill, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1970s1 item
Glen Raven, Washington Road, Cedar Hill vicinity (Robertson County, Tennessee)1974Glen Raven, Washington Road, Cedar Hill vicinity (Rob…
1980s–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
Date unknown1 to date
WessyngtonDate?Wessyngton
Today9 recent
Main-RR-Cedar-Hill-tn12016Main-RR-Cedar-Hill-tn1Jo-Byrns-Elementary-tn12016Jo-Byrns-Elementary-tn1Cedar-Hill-water-tower-tn12016Cedar-Hill-water-tower-tn1Cedar-Hill-post-office-tn12016Cedar-Hill-post-office-tn1Cedar-Hill-houses-tn12016Cedar-Hill-houses-tn1Cedar-Hill-United-Methodist-tn12016Cedar-Hill-United-Methodist-tn1Cedar-Hill-RR-tracks-tn12016Cedar-Hill-RR-tracks-tn1Cedar-Hill-Community-Center-tn12016Cedar-Hill-Community-Center-tn1Cedar-Hill-City-Hall-tn12016Cedar-Hill-City-Hall-tn1
On the map

Cedar Hill on the map in 1956

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Cedar Hill.

Cedar Hill on the 1956 USGS map1956Nashville sheet · 1:250,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Cedar Hill.

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.

Glen Raven, Washington Road, Cedar Hill vicinity (Robertson County, Tennessee)
Retake this viewGlen Raven, Washington Road, Cedar Hill vicinity (Robertson County, Tennessee), 1974

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Cedar Hill

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Joseph W. ByrnsAmerican politician · b. 1869
F
Fyke FarmerAmerican lawyer & peace activist · b. 1901
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Cedar Hill’s post office has been open since 1866.

Gone or out of use
Cedar Hill Schoolschool

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

Questions about Cedar Hill’s history

What year was Cedar Hill founded?

The Cedar Hill post office opened in 1866, 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 Wikimedia Commons (10), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.