Coopertown’s post office opened in 1852, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 33% of U.S. towns · #126 of 177 in Tennessee. What drives it
Most of Coopertown was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1997. Its Register listing is the Frierson Chapel. Below: maps from 1931 on and the census since 2000.
Founding year: the first Coopertown post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1996.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Coopertown’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Coopertown is more historic than 33% of U.S. towns, #126 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 Coopertown’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 Coopertown’s 4.3 sits near the middle of its state (46% of Tennessee towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1996.
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 →
What stands out about Coopertown’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The tribal identities of the 16th and 17th century Native American occupants of present-day Tennessee are disputed.
In later years, the part of Middle Tennessee that was to become the Coopertown community was claimed as territorial hunting grounds by both the Cherokee and the Chickasaw. That area was at the southern edge of what became known as the Transylvania Purchase, land purchased in 1775 from the Cherokee by Richard Henderson, a North Carolina land speculator seeking to establish a 14th colony.
The Coopertown post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1996.
How does Coopertown rank for history?
Coopertown is more historic than 33% of U.S. towns, #126 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 Coopertown?
One place: the Frierson Chapel (listed 2019).
How old are the homes in Coopertown?
4% of Coopertown’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1997.
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), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
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