Most of Huntsville was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Its Register listings are the Old Scott County Jail and the First National Bank of Huntsville. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1953 on, and the census since 1870.
The Huntsville post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Chambers (1885) and Byrd (1899), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 85 in 18702020 census: 1,270175 years
How historic is Huntsville?
C+
More historic than 39% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Huntsville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Huntsville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Huntsville is more historic than 39% of U.S. towns. 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 Huntsville’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 Huntsville’s 11.0 sits near the middle of its state (65% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±4.9 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Huntsville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Huntsville was named after a long hunter known only by the surname "Hunt." This long hunter camped under a rock shelter in the mid-18th century and later moved his family to the area. When Scott County was formed in 1849, Huntsville was chosen as the county seat due to the site's central location within the new county as well as an excellent spring that flowed across the property.
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.
The Huntsville post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Huntsville rank for history?
Huntsville is more historic than 39% of U.S. towns. 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 Huntsville?
Two places: the Old Scott County Jail (listed 1974) and the First National Bank of Huntsville (1985).
How old are the homes in Huntsville?
5% of Huntsville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.9 points), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1985.
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 (4), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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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