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B+History
History · Decatur

Decatur’s post office opened in 1836, and 6 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 69% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Decatur was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: maps from 1935 on and the census since 1870.

1836first post office
6on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Decatur began

When was Decatur founded?

1836

The Decatur post office opened in 1836, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Breedenton (1883), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 99 in 18702020 census: 1,563190 years

How historic is Decatur?

B+

More historic than 69% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Decatur post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Decatur’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Decatur is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Decatur’s overall grade.
Founding era1836, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19405.1% of homes (±3.8) · typical TN town 4.9% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register6 listings, 7 historic buildings, 36.9 per 10,000 residents · typical TN town 6.1 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 69%
NewerOlder

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 Decatur’s 36.9 sits above most of its state (81% of Tennessee towns have fewer) while its 7 historic buildings outnumber those of 73% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.8 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 Decatur’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 Decatur are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1890 and 1920, then grew more than tenfold.Landmarks on the Register6 places on the National Register.Deep rootsA post office since 1836: 190 years of Decatur.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Decatur’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Decatur, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,60018801900192019401960198020002020313 in 1890Low: 142

Lost half of its people between 1890 and 1920, then grew more than tenfold.

15 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

On the National Register

6 historic places in Decatur

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

places listed
6
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
7
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
Meigs County Courthouse
Meigs County Courthouse, built 1903Decatur Methodist ChurchMeigs County Bank, built 1920Smith, Robert H., Law OfficeJohn Stewart House, built 1825S. S. Eaves House
Buildings
Meigs County CourthouseBuilt 1903
Decatur Methodist ChurchBuilding
Meigs County BankBuilt 1920
Smith, Robert H., Law OfficeBuilding
All 6 listings
John Stewart HouseBuilding · listed 1982S. S. Eaves HouseBuilding · listed 1982

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

The story

How Decatur came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Decatur.

Read it all →

Decatur was founded in May 1836 as a county seat for Meigs County, which had been formed that same year. The initial 50 acres (0.20 km2) for the town were donated by James Lillard and Leonard Brooks. Decatur is named after Commodore Stephen Decatur Jr., an early 19th-century American naval officer renowned for his exploits in the First Barbary War, the Second Barbary War, and the War of 1812.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Decatur, 1825 to 2010

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1825BuiltJohn Stewart House is built
  3. 1836Post officeThe Decatur post office opens
  4. 1883Post officeThe Breedenton post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1903BuiltMeigs County Courthouse is built
  7. 1920BuiltMeigs County Bank is built
  8. 1934Post officeThe Breedenton post office closes
  9. 1935On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1973Born hereJeff Smith is born here
  11. 21st century
  12. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 1,598
By decade

Decatur, decade by decade

Today13 recent
Watts bar lake2016Watts bar lakeMeigs-County-Historical-Museum-tn22016Meigs-County-Historical-Museum-tn2Meigs-County-Decatur-Public-Library-tn12016Meigs-County-Decatur-Public-Library-tn1Meigs-County-Bank-tn32016Meigs-County-Bank-tn3Goodfield Circuit photo mashup2016Goodfield Circuit photo mashupDecatur-Municipal-Building-tn12016Decatur-Municipal-Building-tn1Decatur-Main-Street-tn12016Decatur-Main-Street-tn1Robert-Smith-law-office-tn12015Robert-Smith-law-office-tn1P6 cockpit2015P6 cockpitMeigs-County-Bank-tn12015Meigs-County-Bank-tn1Decatur Methodist Church from north2014Decatur Methodist Church from northBuchanan House in2014Buchanan House inMeigs-county-bank-building-tn12008Meigs-county-bank-building-tn1
On the map

Decatur on the map, 1935 to 1973

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

Decatur on the 1935 USGS mapDecatur on the 1942 USGS mapDecatur on the 1973 USGS map1935Decatur 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 Decatur.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Decatur’s post office has been open since 1836. Another post office, Breedenton, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Decatur
1836–today
Breedenton
1883–1934
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BreedentonDecatur Hills
Gone or out of use
Old Stewarts Landinglocale
1cemetery inside Decatur
Decatur

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

Questions about Decatur’s history

What year was Decatur founded?

The Decatur post office opened in 1836, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Decatur rank for history?

Decatur is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns. 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 Decatur?

6 listings: 6 buildings, among them the Meigs County Courthouse (listed 1978, the first). 7 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Decatur?

5% of Decatur’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.8 points), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1979.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (13), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (6), 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.