Goodlettsville’s post office opened in 1854, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 29% of U.S. towns · #137 of 177 in Tennessee. What drives it
Most of Goodlettsville was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. Its Register listings are the Bowen-Campbell House and the Cartwright-Moss House. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1952 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Goodlettsville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1958.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Goodlettsville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Goodlettsville is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns, #137 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 Goodlettsville’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 Goodlettsville’s 1.1 sits near the middle of its state (35% of Tennessee towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. The pre-1940 share (±2.0 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1958.
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 Goodlettsville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Long hunter and early Middle Tennessee settler Kasper Mansker was reportedly born on an immigrant ship bound for the American colonies. Little is known about his German ancestry or his early life. Mansker began to explore the wilds of Kentucky and Tennessee with a group of long hunters in 1769. A journey taken in 1772 introduced Mansker to the rich resources of Middle Tennessee, especially what is now Sumner and Davidson Counties. Near a salt lick and a large creek now known as Mansker's Creek in the present-day city of Goodlettsville, Mansker established his own fortified station, Mansker's Station, in the winter of 1779–1780, which was a winter remembered for its severe temperatures.
Passages that mention Goodlettsville, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Davidson County, Tennessee, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers1880 · page 334Read the page →
Read the text
Goodlettsville Church was organized in 1867, and with the two others composing the circuit now has one hundred and eighty-five members. A plain church was soon after built.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Davidson County, Tennessee1880 · page 374Read the page →
Read the text
south of east to the fork of Dry Creek above E. Cunningham’s ; thence down Dry Creek to the Cumberland River ; and thence up that river to the place of beginning. The polling-place for the district was fixed at Goodlettsville, where the first post-office was opened. There was another opened at Edgefield Junction on the opening of the railroad, and a third at Baker’s Station.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Davidson County, Tennessee1880 · page 334Read the page →
Read the text
St. Peter s is at White’s Bend, four miles below the city of Nashville, on the right bank of the Cumberland. It was organized in 1867 as a part of the Goodlettsville Circuit, and was changed to the charge of St. James in 1869. A congregation at Goodlettsville was also included.
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
Goodlettsville, 1810 to 1989
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Goodlettsville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1952Goodlettsville 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 Goodlettsville.
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.
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Tennessee - Davidson County - Goodlettsville - ED 19-37, 1880
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Goodlettsville’s page.
The Goodlettsville post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1958.
How does Goodlettsville rank for history?
Goodlettsville is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns, #137 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 Goodlettsville?
Two places: the Bowen-Campbell House (listed 1977) and the Cartwright-Moss House (1979).
How old are the homes in Goodlettsville?
4% of Goodlettsville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.0 points), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1990.
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 (5), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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 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.
2021
2021
2013
2013
