Gallatin dates to 1802, and 15 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 65% of U.S. towns · #56 of 177 in Tennessee. What drives it
Most of Gallatin was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2004. 15 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 66 buildings. Below: 8 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1803.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Gallatin’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Gallatin is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #56 of 177 in Tennessee. 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 Gallatin’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 Gallatin’s 18.3 sits above most of its state (71% of Tennessee towns have fewer) while its 89 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 C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share (±1.5 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1802.
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 Gallatin’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Prior to Gallatin's official establishment, the area along Station Camp Creek was secured by early pioneers. In 1780, Captain William Asher established Asher's Station. This fortified stockade served as a vital defensive outpost and a voting hub under the Cumberland Compact. Gallatin was later established in 1802 as the permanent county seat of Sumner County, in what is called the Middle Tennessee region of the state. The town was named after Albert Gallatin, Secretary of Treasury to Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Andrew Jackson became one of the first to purchase a lot when the town was surveyed and platted in 1803. The town was built around a traditional plan of an open square. Jackson founded the first general store in Gallatin.
First House in Gallatin. — The entire tract of forty acres set aside for the Gallatin town site, under an Act of 1801,' was, in fact, a part of the Trousdale grant. Trousdale reserved one acre on the south side of the square and upon this acre lot built the first house erected in Gallatin.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Gallatin’s Most Exciting Day. — Election day, 1866, is credited with being the most exciting day, not only in the history of Gallatin but in the history of all Sumner County men who had fought in the Confederate army, who took part in the events of that day.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Gallatin, 1800 to 1946
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Gallatin. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1955Gallatin 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 Gallatin.
Every building
Gallatin, building by building, 1888–1924
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.
In 1802, according to Wikidata. Gallatin’s post office opened in 1803, and the census of 1870 counted 2,123 people here.
How does Gallatin rank for history?
Gallatin is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #56 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 Gallatin?
15 listings: 14 buildings, among them the Cragfont (listed 1970, the first), and 1 historic district, the Gallatin Commercial Historic District, with 66 contributing buildings. 89 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Gallatin?
3% of Gallatin’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.5 points), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 2004.
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 (19), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (15), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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