Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 14% of U.S. towns · #155 of 177 in Tennessee. What drives it
Most of Coalfield was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1993. Below: maps from 1936 on.
The Coalfield post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name. Four smaller post offices, Morgan (1826), Whetstone (1873) and Big Mountain (1890), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
More historic than 14% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Coalfield is more historic than 14% of U.S. towns, #155 of 177 in Tennessee. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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 Coalfield’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.
Founding year: the first post office (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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Coalfield had its own post office from 1871 to 1989. Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Coalfield’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Coalfield.
Coalfield was originally known as "Ruffner's Station" after Shack Ruffner, an early settler who built a mill in the area. The name "Coalfield" reflects the community's coal mining tradition. It was the site of Coalfield Camp No. 1 and Coalfield Camp No. 2.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereSid Hudson is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Coalfield. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Coalfield.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Coalfield post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Coalfield is more historic than 14% of U.S. towns, #155 of 177 in Tennessee. 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.
1% of Coalfield’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1993.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
