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History · Coker Creek

Coker Creek’s post office opened in 1841

Most of Coker Creek was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: maps from 1934 on.

1841first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Coker Creek began

When was Coker Creek founded?

1841

The Coker Creek post office opened in 1841, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 150185 years
Founding year: the first Coker Creek post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Coker Creek’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 Coker Creek are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsA post office since 1841: 185 years of Coker Creek.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Coker Creek’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Coker Creek’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Coker Creek came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Coker Creek.

Read it all →

Coker Creek was Cherokee land prior to the Cherokee removal in 1838 and was known even in the early twentieth century as "Coco" or "Coqua," the Cherokee name for butterfly weed. Archaeological evidence suggests the presence of a stone tool factory during the Archaic Period. A trading path between the lower settlements and overhill towns passed through the area, and in 1816 this path was developed as the Unicoi Turnpike.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Coker Creek, decade by decade

Today7 recent
Coker-Creek-carriage-tn12017Coker-Creek-carriage-tn1Coker-Creek-Village-office-tn2017Coker-Creek-Village-office-tnCoker-Creek-TN68-tn2017Coker-Creek-TN68-tnCoker-Creek-Elementary-tn12017Coker-Creek-Elementary-tn1Coker-Creek-Baptist-tn2017Coker-Creek-Baptist-tnUnicoi Turnpike Trail Welcome Center and Gift Shop in the Cherokee National Forest in Tellico Plains, Tennessee2015Unicoi Turnpike Trail Welcome Center and Gift Shop in…Coker Creek Community Post Office at Unicoi Turnpike Trail Welcome Center in the Cherokee National Forest in Tellico Pl…2015Coker Creek Community Post Office at Unicoi Turnpike …
On the map

Coker Creek on the map, 1934 to 2003

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

Coker Creek on the 1934 USGS mapCoker Creek on the 1943 USGS mapCoker Creek on the 1957 USGS mapCoker Creek on the 1978 USGS mapCoker Creek on the 2003 USGS map1934Tellico Plains 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 Coker Creek.

Famous people

Famous people close to Coker Creek

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

See all →
Estes KefauverAmerican politician · b. 1903
Ronnie MilsapAmerican country singer · b. 1943
John Tyler MorganUnited States politician and Confederate soldier · b. 1824
LatimoreAmerican singer · b. 1939
J
Jay W. BakerAmerican actor · b. 1961
G
George Washington BridgesAmerican politician · b. 1825
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Gone or out of use
Murphys MilllocaleStation Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Coker Creek
Coker CreekCoker Creek

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

Questions about Coker Creek’s history

What year was Coker Creek founded?

The Coker Creek post office opened in 1841, 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 →
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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 (7), Wikipedia, 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.