Most of Decherd was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Its Register listing is the Haynes House. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1928 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1852.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Decherd’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Decherd is more historic than 39% of U.S. towns. 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 Decherd’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 Decherd’s 6.7 sits near the middle of its state (55% 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 (±2.9 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1868.
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 Decherd’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Peter Decherd came to the area in 1831 from Franklin County, Virginia and set up a plantation in Winchester TN that came to be known as Hundred Oaks. In the 1850s he granted right-of-way to the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad from property he owned.
On February 14, 1856, the thirty-first General Assembly of the state of Tennessee incorporated the town of Decherd with all the rights and privileges as the town of Cookeville, which was also incorporated at that time.
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 1868, according to Wikidata. Decherd’s post office opened in 1852, and the census of 1880 counted 1,008 people here.
How does Decherd rank for history?
Decherd is more historic than 39% 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 Decherd?
One place: the Haynes House (listed 2005).
How old are the homes in Decherd?
6% of Decherd’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.9 points), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1978.
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 (6), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (1), 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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2026
2015
2015
2009
