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C+History
History · Dunlap

Dunlap’s post office opened in 1858, and 5 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 44% of U.S. towns · #95 of 177 in Tennessee. What drives it

Most of Dunlap was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Below: maps from 1936 on and the census since 1880.

1858first post office
5on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Dunlap began

When was Dunlap founded?

1858

The Dunlap post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 133 in 18802020 census: 5,357168 years

How historic is Dunlap?

C+

More historic than 44% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Dunlap’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dunlap is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #95 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 Dunlap’s overall grade.
Founding era1858, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19406.0% of homes (±5.5) · typical TN town 4.9% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register5 listings, 6 historic buildings, 10.6 per 10,000 residents · typical TN town 6.1 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 44%
NewerOlder
Tennessee towns of 2,500+ (177)Ahead of 47%

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 Dunlap’s 10.6 sits near the middle of its state (64% of Tennessee towns have fewer) while its 6 historic buildings outnumber those of 72% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.5 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 Dunlap’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 Dunlap are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1920 and 1940, then grew 7-fold.Landmarks on the Register5 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Dunlap’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Dunlap’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

Dunlap, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,500188019001920194019601980200020201,465 in 1920Low: 721

Lost half of its people between 1920 and 1940, then grew 7-fold.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

On the National Register

5 historic places in Dunlap

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

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
6
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Sequatchie County Courthouse
Sequatchie County Courthouse, built 1911Dunlap Coke OvensDunlap Community BuildingDouglas Coal and Coke Company Clubhouse, built 1902Hill Road at the Cumberland Plateau
BuildingsStructures
Sequatchie County CourthouseBuilt 1911
Dunlap Coke OvensStructure
Dunlap Community BuildingBuilding
Douglas Coal and Coke Company ClubhouseBuilt 1902
All 5 listings
Hill Road at the Cumberland PlateauStructure · listed 2005

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

The story

How Dunlap came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Dunlap.

Read it all →

Dunlap was founded in 1858 as a county seat for Sequatchie County, which had been created the previous year. The city was named for state legislator William Claiborne Dunlap, who played a prominent role in the county's creation. The city's initial 40 acres (16 hectares), which were deeded to the county commissioners by Willam Rankin, were chosen due to their central location within the new county. Dunlap was incorporated as a city in 1941.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Dunlap, 1858 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1858Post officeThe Dunlap post office opens
  3. 1892Born hereTom Stewart is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1902BuiltDouglas Coal and Coke Company Clubhouse is built
  6. 1903Born hereRay Phelps is born here
  7. 1911BuiltSequatchie County Courthouse is built
  8. 1916Born hereRaymond H. Cooley is born here
  9. 1936On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1963Born hereJon Coffelt is born here
  11. 21st century
  12. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 5,357
By decade

Dunlap, decade by decade

Today10 recent
Cherry-Street-Walnut-Dunlap-tn32016Cherry-Street-Walnut-Dunlap-tn3Cherry-Street-Walnut-Dunlap-tn22016Cherry-Street-Walnut-Dunlap-tn2Cherry-Street-Rankin-tn22016Cherry-Street-Rankin-tn2Black-Cat-Tire-Dunlap-tn12016Black-Cat-Tire-Dunlap-tn1Dunlap-community-building-tn12014Dunlap-community-building-tn1Dunlap-coke-ovens-house-tn12014Dunlap-coke-ovens-house-tn1Dorian on Signal Mt. Chattanooga, Tenn2010Dorian on Signal Mt. Chattanooga, TennSequatchie-county-ch-tn12008Sequatchie-county-ch-tn1Dunlap-rankin-tn12008Dunlap-rankin-tn1Dunlap-bank-library-tn12008Dunlap-bank-library-tn1
On the map

Dunlap on the map, 1936 to 1946

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

Dunlap on the 1936 USGS mapDunlap on the 1946 USGS map1936Daus 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 Dunlap.

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Dunlap

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Tom StewartAmerican politician · b. 1892
R
Raymond H. CooleyUnited States Army Medal of Honor recipient · b. 1916
R
Ray PhelpsAmerican baseball player · b. 1903
J
Jon CoffeltAmerican artist · b. 1963
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Dunlap’s post office has been open since 1858.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Brush Creek
Gone or out of use
Sequatchie Quarrymine
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Dunlap
CordellDunlap

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

Questions about Dunlap’s history

What year was Dunlap founded?

The Dunlap post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Dunlap rank for history?

Dunlap is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #95 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 Dunlap?

5 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Sequatchie County Courthouse (listed 1980, the first), and 2 structures. 6 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Dunlap?

6% of Dunlap’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.5 points), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1983.

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 (10), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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.