Gatlinburg’s post office opened in 1856, and 5 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 43% of U.S. towns · #100 of 177 in Tennessee. What drives it
Most of Gatlinburg was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. 5 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 16 buildings between them. Below: 18 old photos and papers, maps from 1943 on, and the census since 1950.
The Gatlinburg post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, White Oak Flats (1840) and Banner (1889), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 1,301 in 19502020 census: 3,577170 years
How historic is Gatlinburg?
C+
More historic than 43% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Gatlinburg post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Gatlinburg’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Gatlinburg is more historic than 43% of U.S. towns, #100 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 Gatlinburg’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 Gatlinburg’s 49.1 sits above most of its state (84% of Tennessee towns have fewer) while its 18 historic buildings outnumber those of 79% 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 (±1.3 points) is firm at this size. 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 Gatlinburg’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
For centuries, Cherokee hunters, as well as other Native American hunters before them, used a footpath known as the Indian Gap Trail to access the abundant game in the forests and coves of the Smokies. This trail connected the Great Indian Warpath with Rutherford Indian Trace, following the West Fork of the Little Pigeon River from modern-day Sevierville through modern-day Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg, and the Sugarlands, crossing the crest of the Smokies along the slopes of Mount Collins, and descending into North Carolina along the banks of the Oconaluftee River. US-441 largely follows this same route today, although it crests at Newfound Gap rather than Indian Gap.
The Gatlinburg post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Gatlinburg rank for history?
Gatlinburg is more historic than 43% of U.S. towns, #100 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 Gatlinburg?
5 listings: 2 buildings, among them the John Ownby Cabin (listed 1976, the first), and 3 historic districts, the Perry's Camp, the Settlement School Dormitories and Dwellings Historic District and the Settlement School Community Outreach Historic District, with 16 contributing buildings. 18 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Gatlinburg?
2% of Gatlinburg’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.3 points), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1987.
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 (18), the National Register of Historic Places (5), Wikipedia, 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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