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History · Crab Orchard

Crab Orchard’s post office opened in 1860

Most of Crab Orchard was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: maps from 1936 on and the census since 1980.

1860first post office
0on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Crab Orchard began

When was Crab Orchard founded?

1860

The Crab Orchard post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,065 in 19802020 census: 720166 years
Founding year: the first Crab Orchard post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Crab Orchard’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 Crab Orchard are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Crab Orchard’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Crab Orchard’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 Crab Orchard came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Crab Orchard.

Read it all →

Crab Orchard's position in a gap in the Crab Orchard Mountains made it a gateway to the Cumberland area as early as the late 18th century. Pioneers passing through the area named it for its abundance of wild crab apple trees. In the 1780s, a road was built through the gap to help provide protection for travelers migrating from East Tennessee to the Nashville area.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Crab Orchard, decade by decade

Today9 recent
Haleys-Grove-Baptist-Church-tn12016Haleys-Grove-Baptist-Church-tn1Crab-Orchard-welcome-sign-tn12016Crab-Orchard-welcome-sign-tn1Crab-Orchard-stone-yard-tn12016Crab-Orchard-stone-yard-tn1Crab-Orchard-RR-tracks-tn12016Crab-Orchard-RR-tracks-tn1Crab-Orchard-Main-Adams-tn12016Crab-Orchard-Main-Adams-tn1Crab-Orchard-City-Hall-tn12016Crab-Orchard-City-Hall-tn1Crab-Orchard-Adams-1st-tn12016Crab-Orchard-Adams-1st-tn1Crab-orchard-tennessee22007Crab-orchard-tennessee2Crab-orchard-tennessee-franklin-mine12007Crab-orchard-tennessee-franklin-mine1
On the map

Crab Orchard on the map, 1936 to 1991

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

Crab Orchard on the 1936 USGS mapCrab Orchard on the 1967 USGS mapCrab Orchard on the 1991 USGS map1936Dorton 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 Crab Orchard.

People over time

Crab Orchard, census by census

02004006008001,000198020002020Peak: 1,065

Between 720 and 1,065 people in every census since 1980.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Crab Orchard

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

See all →
Julie Ann EmeryAmerican actress · b. 1975
Dixie LeeAmerican actress, dancer, and singer · b. 1909
Marjorie WeaverAmerican actress · b. 1913
M
Michael TurnerAmerican comic book artist · b. 1971
Thomas T. HandyUnited States general · b. 1892
James W. ThrockmortonAmerican politician · b. 1825
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Crab Orchard’s post office has been open since 1860.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Haleys Grove
Gone or out of use
Cumberland County Highway Department QuarrymineFranklin MinemineHaley Grove churchchurchHaleys Grove Schoolschool
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Crab Orchard
BattownClineHaley GroveWheeler

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

Questions about Crab Orchard’s history

What year was Crab Orchard founded?

The Crab Orchard post office opened in 1860, 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 (9), 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.