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AHistory
History · Dyersburg

Dyersburg’s post office opened in 1822, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 87% of U.S. towns · #6 of 177 in Tennessee. What drives it

7 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 92 buildings between them. Below: 13 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1870.

1822first post office
7on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
13old photos & papers
16famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Dyersburg’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Dyersburg began

When was Dyersburg founded?

1822

The Dyersburg post office opened in 1822, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 683 in 18702020 census: 16,164204 years

How historic is Dyersburg?

A

More historic than 87% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Dyersburg’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dyersburg is more historic than 87% of U.S. towns, #6 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 Dyersburg’s overall grade.
Founding era1822, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194015.6% of homes (±4.4) · typical TN town 4.9% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register7 listings, 97 historic buildings, 60.7 per 10,000 residents · typical TN town 6.1 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 87%
NewerOlder
Tennessee towns of 2,500+ (177)Ahead of 97%

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 Dyersburg’s 60.7 sits above most of its state (86% 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 B+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.4 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 Dyersburg’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Mapped building by building7 fire insurance maps, 1886 to 1914, drew every building in Dyersburg.A historic districtThe Dyersburg Courthouse Square Historic District takes in 45 historic buildings.A town in postcards13 old photos, postcards and papers, 1836–1969.Landmarks on the Register7 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Every building

Dyersburg, building by building, 1886–1914

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.

Dyersburg fire insurance map, 1886, sheet 11886Sheet 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.

On the National Register

7 listings protect 97 historic buildings

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

places listed
7
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
97
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
Latta House
Bank of DyersburgEdward Moody King House, built 1905Latta HouseDyersburg Courthouse Square Historic DistrictGordon-Oak Streets Historic DistrictTroy Avenue Historic DistrictBruce High School
BuildingsDistricts
Bank of DyersburgBuilding
Edward Moody King HouseBuilt 1905
All 7 listings
Latta HouseBuilding · listed 1978Dyersburg Courthouse Square Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1991Gordon-Oak Streets Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1992Troy Avenue Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1992Bruce High SchoolBuilding · listed 2023

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

By decade

Dyersburg, decade by decade

9 decades in the archive, from the 1830s to the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1830s–1840s2 items
Map of Dyer County, Tennessee (1836)1836Map of Dyer County, Tennessee (1836)Map1843 postcard of18431843 postcard ofPostcard
1880s–1900s5 items
1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Tennessee - Dyer County - Dyersburg - ED 23-4 - ED 23-1218801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Tennessee - D…1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Tennessee (TN) - Dyer County - Dyersburg - ED 23-4 to 1918801950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Tennessee (TN…1900 Dyersburg Tennessee post card19001900 Dyersburg Tennessee post cardDyersburg Tennessee postcard 1900 post card1900Dyersburg Tennessee postcard 1900 post cardPostcard1909 Postcard of downtown19091909 Postcard of downtownPostcard
1910s–1940s5 items
Dyersburg Tennessee postcard looking North on Man St 19131913Dyersburg Tennessee postcard looking North on Man St …PostcardLation Scott lynching, Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Dyersburg, Dyer County, Tennessee 19141914Lation Scott lynching, Sanborn Fire Insurance Map fro…Map1920 Dyersburg Tennessee West Side Public Square Looking North postcard19201920 Dyersburg Tennessee West Side Public Square Look…PostcardPlantation Motel, One of the South's newest and finest, Dyersburg, Tenn (88989)c. 1930Plantation Motel, One of the South's newest and fines…Dyersburg Army Air Base - 3 November 19431943Dyersburg Army Air Base - 3 November 1943
1960s1 item
Caruthersville-bridge-construction1969Caruthersville-bridge-construction
1970s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today14 recent
FEMA - 23569 - Photograph by Leif Skoogfors taken on 04-08-2006 in Tennessee2006FEMA - 23569 - Photograph by Leif Skoogfors taken on …FEMA - 23565 - Photograph by Leif Skoogfors taken on 04-08-2006 in Tennessee2006FEMA - 23565 - Photograph by Leif Skoogfors taken on …FEMA - 23564 - Photograph by Leif Skoogfors taken on 04-08-2006 in Tennessee2006FEMA - 23564 - Photograph by Leif Skoogfors taken on …FEMA - 23563 - Photograph by Leif Skoogfors taken on 04-08-2006 in Tennessee2006FEMA - 23563 - Photograph by Leif Skoogfors taken on …(Severe Storms and Tornadoes) Deyersburg, TN -- April 8, 2006 -- A Deyer County resident salvages items after the house…2006(Severe Storms and Tornadoes) Deyersburg, TN -- April…FEMA - 8010 - Photograph by George Armstrong taken on 05-18-2003 in Tennessee2003FEMA - 8010 - Photograph by George Armstrong taken on…FEMA - 8008 - Photograph by George Armstrong taken on 05-18-2003 in Tennessee2003FEMA - 8008 - Photograph by George Armstrong taken on…FEMA - 8007 - Photograph by George Armstrong taken on 05-18-2003 in Tennessee2003FEMA - 8007 - Photograph by George Armstrong taken on…FEMA - 8005 - Photograph by George Armstrong taken on 05-18-2003 in Tennessee2003FEMA - 8005 - Photograph by George Armstrong taken on…FEMA - 7994 - Photograph by George Armstrong taken on 05-18-2003 in Tennessee2003FEMA - 7994 - Photograph by George Armstrong taken on…FEMA - 7991 - Photograph by Mark Wolfe taken on 05-18-2003 in Tennessee2003FEMA - 7991 - Photograph by Mark Wolfe taken on 05-18…FEMA - 7990 - Photograph by Mark Wolfe taken on 05-18-2003 in Tennessee2003FEMA - 7990 - Photograph by Mark Wolfe taken on 05-18…FEMA - 7960 - Photograph by Mark Wolfe taken on 05-10-2003 in Tennessee2003FEMA - 7960 - Photograph by Mark Wolfe taken on 05-10…FEMA - 7957 - Photograph by Mark Wolfe taken on 05-10-2003 in Tennessee2003FEMA - 7957 - Photograph by Mark Wolfe taken on 05-10…
The story

How Dyersburg came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Dyersburg.

Read it all →

The lands encompassing Dyersburg were originally inhabited by the Chickasaw people. As westward expansion continued, the Chickasaw Nation relinquished their claims to West Tennessee through a series of treaties, culminating in the final agreement, the Treaty of Tuscaloosa, signed in 1818. The lands composing the future Dyer County were then transferred, via the Jackson Purchase, to the US Government, and American settlers from the eastern states began moving into West Tennessee around 1819.

ChaptersEarly history19th centuryCivil WarLate 19th-Early 20th CenturyMid-Late 20th Century21st century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Dyersburg, 1822 to 1987

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1822Post officeThe Dyersburg post office opens
  3. 1836In the archiveMap of Dyer County, Tennessee (1836)
  4. 1843In the archive1843 postcard of
  5. 1848Born hereMaecenas Eason Benton is born here
  6. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Tennessee - Dyer County - Dyersburg - ED 23-4 - E…
  7. 20th century
  8. 1900In the archive1900 Dyersburg Tennessee post card
  9. 1901Born hereWilliam Howard Arnold is born here
  10. 1905BuiltEdward Moody King House is built
  11. 1910Born hereWalter Fuller is born here
  12. 1913In the archiveDyersburg Tennessee postcard looking North on Man St 1913
  13. 1920In the archive1920 Dyersburg Tennessee West Side Public Square Looking North postcard
  14. 1939On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  15. 1987Born hereHarry Ford is born here
On the map

Dyersburg on the map, 1939 to 1983

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

Dyersburg on the 1939 USGS mapDyersburg on the 1952 USGS mapDyersburg on the 1961 USGS mapDyersburg on the 1983 USGS map1939Dyersburg sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Dyersburg.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

1843 postcard of
Retake this view1843 postcard of, 1843

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Dyersburg’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Dyersburg, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00016,00018,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 17,452

Between 683 and 17,452 people in every census since 1870.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Famous people

16 famous people were born in Dyersburg

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

See all →
William Howard ArnoldUnited States general · b. 1901
H
Harry FordAmerican actor · b. 1987
W
Walter FullerAmerican singer · b. 1910
Maecenas Eason BentonAmerican politician · b. 1848
Jeff YarbroAmerican politician and lawyer · b. 1977
J
Jerry WoodsAmerican football player · b. 1966
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Dyersburg’s post office has been open since 1822.

Hamlets and corners on the map
EvansvilleSouth Dyersburg
Gone or out of use
Baird-Dulany HospitalhospitalDyersburg Male and Female AcademyschoolFerguson SchoolschoolOld Dyer County FairgroundlocaleScience Hill Schoolschool
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Dyersburg
ClarkDyer CountyFairviewMemorial ParkShaw

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

Help out

Finish Dyersburg’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
6 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1843 postcard of: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Dyersburg’s history

What year was Dyersburg founded?

The Dyersburg post office opened in 1822, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Dyersburg rank for history?

Dyersburg is more historic than 87% of U.S. towns, #6 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 Dyersburg?

7 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Latta House (listed 1978, the first), and 3 historic districts, the Dyersburg Courthouse Square Historic District, the Gordon-Oak Streets Historic District and the Troy Avenue Historic District, with 92 contributing buildings. 97 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Dyersburg?

16% of Dyersburg’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.4 points), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1972.

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 (27), Wikidata (1), 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.