The Hampton post office opened in 1838, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Allentown (1892) and Braemer (1915), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 2,030188 years
How historic is Hampton?
A−
More historic than 79% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Hampton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Hampton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hampton is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hampton’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 Hampton’s 10.6 sits near the middle of its state (64% of Tennessee towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.4 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 Hampton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Hampton was established in the late 1860s by Elijah Simerly, a state legislator and president of the East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad. He named the community for his wife, Mary Hampton. Simerly built an elaborate, Italianate-style house which still stands at the corner of Main Street and 1st Avenue, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The house is now known as the "Butler Mansion" after a later owner, Ralph Butler.
Passages that mention Hampton, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of the Thirteenth Regiment, Tennessee Volunteer Cavalry, U. S. A.1903 · page 382Read the page →
Read the text
The town of Hampton, Tenn., situated six miles south of Elizabethton, Tenn., was known during the Civil War as Doe River Cove. There were many clever and wellto-do people in this neighborhood and all were loyal to the Union as far as we can remember. It w as the home of
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of the Thirteenth Regiment, Tennessee Volunteer Cavalry, U. S. A.1903 · page 258Read the page →
Read the text
bethton, Tenn., one Sunday afternoon and the question of reunions was mentioned. One of the comrades suggested that we issue a call for a reunion of Company G, to which we had belonged, to meet at Hampton, Tenn., on the following week, which was done. About one hundred persons, mostly the comrades and their families, met in a pretty little grove near Hampton with well filled baskets and enjoyed a few hours most pleasantly in
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.
The Hampton post office opened in 1838, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Hampton rank for history?
Hampton is more historic than 79% 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.
What is on the National Register in Hampton?
One place: the Simerly-Butler House (listed 1996).
How old are the homes in Hampton?
18% of Hampton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.4 points), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1979.
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 (8), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
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