Covington’s post office opened in 1824, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 89% of U.S. towns · #3 of 177 in Tennessee. What drives it
7 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 92 buildings between them. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1850.
Founding year: the first Covington post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Covington’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Covington is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #3 of 177 in Tennessee. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Covington’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 Covington’s 113 sits above most of its state (90% of Tennessee towns have fewer) while its 97 historic buildings outnumber those of 89% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Covington’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Covington, building by building, 1886–1916
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1886Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
The Covington area was originally inhabited by Native Americans of various tribes. They used the nearby Mississippi River as a trading route among numerous American Indian nations, who for more than 1,000 years conducted continent-deep trading between the upper river and the Southeast. Evidence of such trading has been found in materials and items excavated from numerous archeological sites.
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.
Church of ChristchurchChurch of God Holinesschurch
1cemetery inside Covington
Covington Memorial Gardens
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Covington’s history
What year was Covington founded?
The Covington post office opened in 1824, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Covington rank for history?
Covington is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #3 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 Covington?
7 listings: 5 buildings, among them the St. Matthew's Episcopal Church (listed 1977, the first), and 2 historic districts, the South Main Street Historic District and the South College Street Historic District, with 92 contributing buildings. 97 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Covington?
17% of Covington’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.4 points), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1977.
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 (3), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (7), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1880
