Cookeville dates to 1854, and 10 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 32% of U.S. towns · #127 of 177 in Tennessee. What drives it
Most of Cookeville was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1953 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1855.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Cookeville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cookeville is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #127 of 177 in Tennessee. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cookeville’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 Cookeville’s 2.8 sits near the middle of its state (41% of Tennessee towns have fewer) while its 10 listings outnumber those of 76% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1854.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. The pre-1940 share (±0.8 points) is firm at this size.
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 Cookeville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Another post office, White Plains, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Cookville
1855–today
White Plains
1870–1874
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Apple Valley EstatesBeverly HillsBilbrey ParkBriargateBunker Hill ParkBurton EstatesCapshaw WoodsCollege HeightsColonial AcresCountry Club EstatesDarwin ParkDeberry HeightsEastwoodEnsor ParkForest HillsGreen AcresHillsdaleHillwoodHolladayHoneybrookLaurel ParkMelroseMount VernonOaklawn
Gone or out of use
Bridge ChurchchurchBrowne AirportairportLone Oak ChurchchurchLovelady ChurchchurchPleasant Valley ChurchchurchSalem SchoolschoolShady Grove ChurchchurchWhitsons Chapelchurch
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Cookeville
BuckBuckBuckChoateDavisStewart
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Start Cookeville’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cookeville’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Before European settlement, the Cookeville area was dominated by the Cherokee tribe since the Paleo-Indian era. The Cherokee used the region as hunting grounds. Cherokee claims to the land in the Cumberland Plateau ended after the Treaty of Tellico was signed in October 1805. The area surrounding Cookeville and Putnam County was first reported to be settled by Virginia and North Carolina longhunters in the late 1700s to early 1800s, most of whom were of English and Scotch-Irish descent. Settlers arrived by Avery's Trace, which was known as the Walton Road in the area of present-day Cookeville. Putnam County was established in 1842, formed from parts of White, Overton, Jackson, Smith, and DeKalb Counties after the population increased sufficiently, straining those counties' abilities to support services to the isolated residents. Entering the 19th century, the area was dominated economic…
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.
In 1854, according to Wikidata. Cookeville’s post office opened in 1855, and the census of 1870 counted 156 people here.
How does Cookeville rank for history?
Cookeville is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #127 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.
What is on the National Register in Cookeville?
10 listings: 10 buildings, among them the Arcade, The (listed 1979, the first).
How old are the homes in Cookeville?
3% of Cookeville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1991.
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 (2), Wikidata (4), the National Register of Historic Places (10), 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.
1880
