Most of Chapel Hill was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1995. Its Register listings are the Chapel Hill Cumberland Presbyterian Church and the Swaim House. Below: maps from 1936 on and the census since 1880.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Chapel Hill is more historic than 67% 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 Chapel Hill’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 Chapel Hill’s 11.7 sits above most of its state (66% of Tennessee towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% 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 (±5.3 points). Two sources give 1808.
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 Chapel Hill’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 Chapel Hill yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Chapel Hill is a town in northeastern Marshall County, Tennessee, United States. The town was named after Chapel Hill, North Carolina, by settlers from that area. The population was 1,717 as of the 2020 census.
Chapel Hill was established in 1808. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,445 to 1,717 (+19%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
In 1808, according to Wikidata. Chapel Hill’s post office opened in 1829, and the census of 1880 counted 112 people here.
How does Chapel Hill rank for history?
Chapel Hill is more historic than 67% 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 Chapel Hill?
Two places: the Chapel Hill Cumberland Presbyterian Church (listed 1985) and the Swaim House (1984).
How old are the homes in Chapel Hill?
8% of Chapel Hill’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.3 points), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1995.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.
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