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CHistory
History · Hohenwald

Hohenwald dates to 1878, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 29% of U.S. towns · #134 of 177 in Tennessee. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Hohenwald Railroad Depot and the Lewis County Courthouse. Most of Hohenwald was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1969. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1936 on, and the census since 1920.

1878founded
2on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Hohenwald’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Hohenwald began

When was Hohenwald founded?

1878

Hohenwald dates its founding to 1878 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1920.

First census: 742 in 19202020 census: 3,668148 years

How historic is Hohenwald?

C

More historic than 29% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1880.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Hohenwald’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hohenwald is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns, #134 of 177 in Tennessee. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hohenwald’s overall grade.
Founding era1878, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19402.2% of homes (±2.4) · typical TN town 4.9% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register2 listings, 5.1 per 10,000 residents · typical TN town 6.1 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 29%
NewerOlder
Tennessee towns of 2,500+ (177)Ahead of 24%

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 Hohenwald’s 5.1 sits near the middle of its state (49% of Tennessee towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. The pre-1940 share (±2.4 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1878.

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 Hohenwald’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hohenwald’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewHistoric American Buildings Survey, A.A…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Hohenwald came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hohenwald.

Read it all →

The town was founded in 1878 and later merged with a town named "New Switzerland" to the south. New Switzerland was founded in 1894 by Swiss immigrants in conjunction with the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway. The railway's extension to Hohenwald served as a catalyst for the towns early economic growth. This rail link enabled the export of timber and agricultural products, key to the local economy, transforming Hohenwald into an important commercial center in Lewis County. This significantly influenced Hohenwald's demographic expansion and urban development, illustrating the profound impact of rail infrastructure on the growth of small American towns during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Hohenwald, 1878 to 1937

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1878
    FoundingHohenwald is established
  3. 1880Post officeThe Hohenwald post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1936On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1937In the archiveHistoric American Buildings Survey, A.A. Gustafson, Photographer August, 1937 DETAIL OF C…
By decade

Hohenwald, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s4 items
Historic American Buildings Survey, A.A. Gustafson, Photographer August, 1937 DETAIL OF CHIMNEY. - Early Log Cabin, Hoh…1937Historic American Buildings Survey, A.A. Gustafson, P…Historic American Buildings Survey, A.A. Gustafson, Photographer August, 1937 END VIEW. - Early Log Cabin1937Historic American Buildings Survey, A.A. Gustafson, P…Historic American Buildings Survey, A.A. Gustafson, Photographer August, 1937 FRONT DETAIL. - Early Log Cabin1937Historic American Buildings Survey, A.A. Gustafson, P…Historic American Buildings Survey, A.A. Gustafson, Photographer August, 1937 GENERAL VIEW. - Early Log Cabin1937Historic American Buildings Survey, A.A. Gustafson, P…
1940s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today8 recent
TN-Lewis Co Armory P61804412015TN-Lewis Co Armory P6180441TENN 99 Sign2015TENN 99 SignJohn A Baker Airfield P61804482015John A Baker Airfield P6180448John A Baker Airfield P61804462015John A Baker Airfield P6180446John A Baker Airfield P61804452015John A Baker Airfield P6180445Hohenwald, Tennessee 8-31-20142014Hohenwald, Tennessee 8-31-2014Hohenwald City Hall, Tennessee2014Hohenwald City Hall, Tennessee2010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map for20102010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map forBook
On the map

Hohenwald on the map, 1936 to 1991

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

Hohenwald on the 1936 USGS mapHohenwald on the 1951 USGS mapHohenwald on the 1968 USGS mapHohenwald on the 1991 USGS map1936Kimmins 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 Hohenwald.

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.

Historic American Buildings Survey, A.A. Gustafson, Photographer August, 1937 DETAIL OF CHIMNEY. - Early Log Cabin, Hoh…
Retake this viewHistoric American Buildings Survey, A.A. Gustafson, Photographer August, 1937 DETAIL OF CHIMNEY. - Early Log Cabin, Hoh…, 1937

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Hohenwald’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Hohenwald

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1987
Hohenwald Railroad Depot
Hohenwald Railroad DepotLewis County Courthouse
Buildings
Hohenwald Railroad DepotBuilding
Lewis County CourthouseBuilding

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Hohenwald, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 3,922

Between 742 and 3,922 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Hohenwald’s post office has been open since 1880.

Hamlets and corners on the map
BlondyLomax CrossroadsTheodore
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Hohenwald
Saint PetersSwiss

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

Questions about Hohenwald’s history

What year was Hohenwald founded?

In 1878, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Hohenwald’s post office opened in 1880, and the census of 1920 counted 742 people here.

How does Hohenwald rank for history?

Hohenwald is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns, #134 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 Hohenwald?

Two places: the Hohenwald Railroad Depot (listed 1987) and the Lewis County Courthouse (2006).

How old are the homes in Hohenwald?

2% of Hohenwald’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1969.

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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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.