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Hollow-Rock-Spring-St-tnPhoto: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0
–Not graded
History · Hollow Rock

Hollow Rock’s post office opened in 1868

Most of Hollow Rock was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1969. Below: maps from 1936 on and the census since 1920.

1868first post office
0on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Hollow Rock began

When was Hollow Rock founded?

1868

The Hollow Rock post office opened in 1868, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Sandy Bridge (1830), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 198 in 19202020 census: 683158 years
Founding year: the first Hollow Rock post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Hollow Rock’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 Hollow Rock are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 963 in 2000; 683 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hollow Rock’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hollow Rock’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
People over time

Hollow Rock, census by census

02004006008001,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 963

Peaked at 963 in 2000; 683 people lived here in 2020.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

The story so far

Hollow Rock, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Hollow Rock yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Hollow Rock is a town in Carroll County, Tennessee, United States. As of the 2020 census, Hollow Rock had a population of 683. Hollow Rock is just west of, and adjacent to, the town of Bruceton and is 70 km (43 mi) northeast of Jackson.

Its first post office opened in 1868. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 718 to 683 (-5%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Hollow Rock, 1830 to 2000

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1830Post officeThe Sandy Bridge post office opens
  3. 1868Post officeThe Sandy Bridge post office closes
  4. 1868Post officeThe Hollow Rock post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1936On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 21st century
  8. 2000CensusPopulation peaks at 963
By decade

Hollow Rock, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Hollow-Rock-Spring-St-tn22019Hollow-Rock-Spring-St-tn2Hollow-Rock-Spring-St-tn2019Hollow-Rock-Spring-St-tnHollow-Rock-RR-tracks-tn2019Hollow-Rock-RR-tracks-tnHollow-Rock-General-Store-tn2019Hollow-Rock-General-Store-tn
On the map

Hollow Rock on the map, 1936 to 1985

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

Hollow Rock on the 1936 USGS mapHollow Rock on the 1950 USGS mapHollow Rock on the 1973 USGS mapHollow Rock on the 1985 USGS map1936Vale 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 Hollow Rock.

Famous people

Famous people close to Hollow Rock

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

See all →
Dixie CarterAmerican actress · b. 1939
Cherry JonesAmerican actress · b. 1956
J
Jessica AndrewsAmerican country music singer · b. 1983
Howell Edmunds JacksonAmerican jurist and politician · b. 1832
James D. PorterAmerican politician · b. 1828
Patrick WillisAmerican football player, linebacker · b. 1985
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Hollow Rock’s post office has been open since 1868. Another post office, Sandy Bridge, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Sandy Bridge
1830–1868
Hollow Rock
1868–today
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Sandy Bridge
Gone or out of use
West Tennessee Seminaryschool
1cemetery inside Hollow Rock
New Prospect

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). 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.

BrucetonIts storyC−

Questions about Hollow Rock’s history

What year was Hollow Rock founded?

The Hollow Rock post office opened in 1868, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 Wikimedia Commons (4), 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.