Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 47% of U.S. towns · #88 of 177 in Tennessee. What drives it
Most of Henderson was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Its Register listings are the Chester County Courthouse, the National Teacher's Normal and Business College Administration Building and the Chester County Training School/Vincent High School. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1880.
Henderson dates its founding to 1857 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.
More historic than 47% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Henderson is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns, #88 of 177 in Tennessee. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
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 Henderson’s 7.8 sits near the middle of its state (58% of Tennessee towns have fewer) while its 5 historic buildings outnumber those of 70% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Henderson’s history is told.
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.
1892Sheet 1 of 1Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
From Wikipedia’s history of Henderson.
Henderson was platted in 1857, when the railroad was extended to that point. The city takes its name from Henderson County, Tennessee. Henderson was called Dayton until the Civil War, when it then became known as Henderson Station and, finally, Henderson.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereSue Shelton White is born here
BuiltNational Teacher's Normal and Business College Administration Building is built
Born hereEddy Arnold is born here
In the archiveNew Chester County High School Bldg., Henderson, Tennessee, erected 1950 (83912)
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyOne decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Henderson. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Henderson.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Henderson’s page.
Retake this view · +15The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Between 493 and 6,309 people in every census since 1880.
14 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Henderson’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Henderson’s post office has been open since 1882.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
In 1857, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Henderson’s post office opened in 1882, and the census of 1880 counted 493 people here.
Henderson is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns, #88 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.
Three places: the Chester County Courthouse (listed 1979), the National Teacher's Normal and Business College Administration Building (2012) and the Chester County Training School/Vincent High School (2026).
8% of Henderson’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.8 points), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1979.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (3), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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 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.
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