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C−History
History · Greenfield

Greenfield’s post office opened in 1874

More historic than 21% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Greenfield was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1964. Below: maps from 1899 on and the census since 1880.

1874first post office
0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Greenfield began

When was Greenfield founded?

1874

The Greenfield post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 320 in 18802020 census: 2,031152 years

How historic is Greenfield?

C−

More historic than 21% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Greenfield’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Greenfield is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Greenfield’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 21%
NewerOlder

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 Greenfield’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (16% of Tennessee towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.3 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 Greenfield’s past

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

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Greenfield’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Every building

Greenfield, building by building, 1899–1910

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.

Greenfield fire insurance map, 1899, sheet 11899Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story so far

Greenfield, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Greenfield yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Greenfield is a city in Weakley County, Tennessee, United States. As of the 2020 census, Greenfield had a population of 2,031. The population was 2,078 in 2018.

Its first post office opened in 1874. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 2,182 to 2,031 (-7%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Greenfield, 1874 to 1954

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1874Post officeThe Greenfield post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1932Born hereGene Cook is born here
  5. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Greenfield, decade by decade

On the map

Greenfield on the map, 1954 to 1981

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

Greenfield on the 1954 USGS mapGreenfield on the 1981 USGS map1954Greenfield 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 Greenfield.

People over time

Greenfield, census by census

05001,0001,5002,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,208

Between 320 and 2,208 people in every census since 1880.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Greenfield’s post office has been open since 1874.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Old Hall
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Greenfield
BrockHighlandMorrisPattersonRose Hill

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

Questions about Greenfield’s history

What year was Greenfield founded?

The Greenfield post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Greenfield rank for history?

Greenfield is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns. 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.

How old are the homes in Greenfield?

6% of Greenfield’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.3 points), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1964.

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 (5), 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.