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Helenwood-RR-tracks-tn1Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 3.0
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History · Helenwood

The history of Helenwood

Below: maps from 1952 on and the census since 2000.

0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 3.0

What stands out about Helenwood’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Helenwood are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Helenwood’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Helenwood came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Helenwood.

Read it all →

Helenwood was platted in 1859 under the name "Homestead." It was settled as a coal-mining community. The origin of its current name is not known.

On April 5, 1935, a dynamite explosion caused extensive damage in Helenwood, destroying fifteen homes and damaging many other homes and businesses. One news account said that Helenwood was "literally wiped off the map." There were no fatalities.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the map

Helenwood on the map, 1952 to 1988

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

Helenwood on the 1952 USGS mapHelenwood on the 1988 USGS map1952Oneida South 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 Helenwood.

People over time

Helenwood, census by census

020040060080020002020Peak: 865

Between 635 and 865 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Helenwood

Nobody well known was born in Helenwood itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Howard BakerAmerican politician and diplomat · b. 1925
Bruce Fairchild BartonAmerican author, politician and advertising exe… · b. 1886
Roger K. CrouchAmerican astronaut · b. 1940
Shelby Moore CullomAmerican politician · b. 1829
John DuncanAmerican attorney and Republican politician · b. 1919
L
Levi KreisAmerican musician and actor · b. 1981
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Gone or out of use
Helenwood Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Helenwood
Marcum

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Huntsville2 historic placesC+

Questions about Helenwood’s history

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.