Hendersonville dates to 1784, and 5 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 48% of U.S. towns · #86 of 177 in Tennessee. What drives it
Most of Hendersonville was built recently: 0.8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1989. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1952 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1801.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Hendersonville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hendersonville is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #86 of 177 in Tennessee. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hendersonville’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 Hendersonville’s 2.1 sits near the middle of its state (38% of Tennessee towns have fewer) while its 13 historic buildings outnumber those of 77% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share (±0.5 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1784.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Hendersonville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In 1784 Daniel Smith received a land grant from the state of North Carolina in payment for surveying Middle Tennessee. (North Carolina at the time claimed its boundaries extended to this territory across the Appalachian Mountains.) He began work on his house later known as Rock Castle, but it was not completed until 1796. Due to his surveying trips, he frequently was gone on long journeys, and his wife supervised much of the construction.
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 Hendersonville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1952Hendersonville 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 Hendersonville.
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 view1915AmquiStation, 1915
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Hendersonville’s page.
In 1784, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Hendersonville’s post office opened in 1801, and the census of 1880 counted 170 people here.
How does Hendersonville rank for history?
Hendersonville is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #86 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 Hendersonville?
5 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Rock Castle (listed 1970, the first). 13 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Hendersonville?
0.8% of Hendersonville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1989.
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 (5), 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) 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.
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