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History · Gainesboro

Gainesboro was first counted by the census in 1880, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

4 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 48 buildings between them. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1925 on, and the census since 1880.

1880first census
4on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
7famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Gainesboro’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Gainesboro began

When was Gainesboro founded?

1880

Gainesboro first appears in the census in 1880.

First census: 352 in 18802020 census: 920146 years
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓

What stands out about Gainesboro’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Gainesboro Historic District takes in 29 historic buildings.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.On the map since 19253 editions of the USGS map, 1925 to 1979. Watch Gainesboro change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Gainesboro’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewAustin Peay Bridge, State Route 56 span…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

4 listings protect 49 historic buildings

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
49
each building in a district counts
first listed
1990
Gainesboro Historic District
Gainesboro Historic DistrictGainesboro Residential Historic DistrictJackson County High School, built 1939
BuildingsDistricts
All 4 listings
Gainesboro Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1990Gainesboro Residential Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2001Jackson County High SchoolBuilding · listed 2009Flynn’s Lick Methodist ChurchBuilding · listed 2026

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

The story

How Gainesboro came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Gainesboro.

Read it all →

The Gainesboro vicinity was a popular destination for long hunters as early as the 1770s, as natural salt licks drew rich game to the area. In the 1790s, Avery's Trace passed nearby, with travellers along the road lodging at Fort Blount about 10 miles to the west. Gainesboro was named after U.S. Army Brevet Major General Edmund P. Gaines (1777–1849). It has been the seat of Jackson County since 1820. The 1970 John Frankenheimer Movie I Walk the Line starring Gregory Peck and featuring Johnny Cash's song I Walk the Line was filmed in Gainesboro.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Gainesboro, 1805 to 1942

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1805Post officeThe Gainsboro post office opens
  3. 1830Born hereAlvan Cullem Gillem is born here
  4. 1849Born hereMounce Gore Butler is born here
  5. 1878Born hereJohn J. Gore is born here
  6. 20th century
  7. 1925On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1939BuiltJackson County High School is built
  9. 1942Born hereCharlotte Burks is born here
By decade

Gainesboro, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Austin Peay Bridge, State Route 56 spanning Cumberland RiverDate?Austin Peay Bridge, State Route 56 spanning Cumberlan…
Today8 recent
JM-Johnson-House-Gainesboro-tn12016JM-Johnson-House-Gainesboro-tn1Gainesboro-South-Main-tn12016Gainesboro-South-Main-tn1Gainesboro-Memorial-Building-tn12016Gainesboro-Memorial-Building-tn1Gainesboro-Mark-Twain-Avenue-tn12016Gainesboro-Mark-Twain-Avenue-tn1Gaines-House-Gainesboro-tn12016Gaines-House-Gainesboro-tn1Fred-Lucas-Haile-Museum-tn22016Fred-Lucas-Haile-Museum-tn2Fox-elementary-school-tn12010Fox-elementary-school-tn1Mare grazing2009Mare grazing
On the map

Gainesboro on the map, 1925 to 1979

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

Gainesboro on the 1925 USGS mapGainesboro on the 1968 USGS mapGainesboro on the 1979 USGS map1925Gainesboro 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 Gainesboro.

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.

Austin Peay Bridge, State Route 56 spanning Cumberland River
Retake this viewAustin Peay Bridge, State Route 56 spanning Cumberland River

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Gainesboro, census by census

02004006008001,0001,20018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,119

Between 351 and 1,119 people in every census since 1880.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

7 famous people were born in Gainesboro

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

See all →
Mounce Gore ButlerAmerican politician · b. 1849
Alvan Cullem GillemUnion Army general · b. 1830
C
Charlotte BurksAmerican politician · b. 1942
John J. GoreUnited States federal judge · b. 1878
Zenas Sanford LoftisAmerican physician · b. 1881
M
Martha McWhirterAmerican commune founder · b. 1827

Questions about Gainesboro’s history

What year was Gainesboro founded?

The Gainesboro post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Gainesboro?

4 listings: 2 buildings and 2 historic districts, the Gainesboro Historic District and the Gainesboro Residential Historic District, with 48 contributing buildings. 49 historic buildings in all.

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (8), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.