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History · Collinwood

Collinwood dates to 1913, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Collinwood Railroad Station. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1936 on, and the census since 1950.

1913founded
1on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Collinwood’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Collinwood began

When was Collinwood founded?

1913

Collinwood dates its founding to 1913 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1950.

First census: 589 in 19502020 census: 898113 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1914.The full story ↓

What stands out about Collinwood’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Collinwood’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewCentral Silica Corporation: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Collinwood came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Collinwood.

Read it all →

Collinwood was established in 1913 as a stop on the Tennessee Western Railroad, a rail line constructed to serve the area iron industry. The city was named for W.W. Collins, president of the Collinwood Land Company, which platted the city. While the railroad, which intersected the L&N system at Iron City, was originally to extend northward to Hohenwald, plans for extension beyond Collinwood never materialized, and the city became the railroad's western terminus.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Collinwood, 1913 to 1938

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1913
    FoundingCollinwood is established
  3. 1914Post officeThe Collinwood post office opens
  4. 1916BuiltCollinwood Railroad Station is built
  5. 1936On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1938In the archiveCentral Silica Corporation
By decade

Collinwood, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s1 item
Central Silica Corporation1938Central Silica Corporation
1940s–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
Today10 recent
Collinwood-abandoned-tn12016Collinwood-abandoned-tn1Collinwood-United-Methodist-Church-tn12016Collinwood-United-Methodist-Church-tn1Collinwood-Railroad-Station-tn12016Collinwood-Railroad-Station-tn1Collinwood-Depot-3rd-tn12016Collinwood-Depot-3rd-tn1Collinwood-City-Hall-tn12016Collinwood-City-Hall-tn1Collinwood-Broadway-tn12016Collinwood-Broadway-tn1Collinwood-Broadway-buildings-tn12016Collinwood-Broadway-buildings-tn1Collinwood-Broadway-3rd-tn22016Collinwood-Broadway-3rd-tn2Collinwood-Broadway-3rd-tn12016Collinwood-Broadway-3rd-tn1Collinwood-4th-Broadway-tn12016Collinwood-4th-Broadway-tn1
On the map

Collinwood on the map, 1936 to 1975

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

Collinwood on the 1936 USGS mapCollinwood on the 1951 USGS mapCollinwood on the 1975 USGS map1936Collinwood 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 Collinwood.

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.

Central Silica Corporation
Retake this viewCentral Silica Corporation, 1938

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Collinwood

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1988
Collinwood Railroad Station
Collinwood Railroad Station, built 1916
Buildings
Collinwood Railroad StationBuilt 1916

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Collinwood, census by census

02004006008001,0001960198020002020Peak: 1,064

Between 589 and 1,064 people in every census since 1950.

8 censuses, 1950–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Collinwood

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

See all →
Mitch McConnellAmerican politician and lawyer · b. 1942
Michael JeterAmerican actor · b. 1952
Fred ThompsonAmerican politician and actor · b. 1942
Sam PhillipsAmerican businessman, record executive, record … · b. 1923
W. C. HandyAmerican blues composer and musician · b. 1873
Jonathan RosenbaumAmerican film critic · b. 1943
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Collinwood’s post office has been open since 1914.

Hamlets and corners on the map
McGlamery Stand
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Collinwood
CollinwoodMcGlameryWayne County Memory Gardens

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

Questions about Collinwood’s history

What year was Collinwood founded?

In 1913, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Collinwood’s post office opened in 1914, and the census of 1950 counted 589 people here.

What is on the National Register in Collinwood?

One place: the Collinwood Railroad Station (listed 1988).

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 (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.