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History · Iron City

Iron City dates to 1887, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1936 on.

1887founded
0on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
1famous people
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Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Iron City began

When was Iron City founded?

1887

Iron City dates its founding to 1887 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1888.

2020 census: 274139 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1888.The full story ↓

What stands out about Iron City’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 Iron City are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Iron City’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Iron City came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Iron City.

Read it all →

Iron City gets its name from an iron foundry that operated in its vicinity in the late 19th century. While iron ore was mined in southwestern Lawrence County as early as the 1830s, the industry really began to thrive in 1886, when a branch railroad line to the area was completed. Iron City incorporated the following year.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Iron City, 1887 to 1938

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1887
    FoundingIron City is established
  3. 1888Post officeThe Iron City post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1936On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1938Born hereMelba Montgomery is born here
By decade

Iron City, decade by decade

Today11 recent
Shoal-Creek-Iron-City-tn12016Shoal-Creek-Iron-City-tn1SR227-bridge-Iron-City-tn12016SR227-bridge-Iron-City-tn1SR227-Iron-City-tn12016SR227-Iron-City-tn1Iron-City-post-office-tn12016Iron-City-post-office-tn1Iron-City-old-church-tn12016Iron-City-old-church-tn1Iron-City-buildings-tn12016Iron-City-buildings-tn1Iron-City-Walnut-2nd-tn12016Iron-City-Walnut-2nd-tn1Iron-City-RR-tracks-tn12016Iron-City-RR-tracks-tn1Iron-City-Freewill-Baptist-tn12016Iron-City-Freewill-Baptist-tn1Iron-City-Church-of-Christ-tn12016Iron-City-Church-of-Christ-tn1Iron-City-2nd-Street-tn12016Iron-City-2nd-Street-tn1
On the map

Iron City on the map, 1936 to 1976

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

Iron City on the 1936 USGS mapIron City on the 1950 USGS mapIron City on the 1976 USGS map1936St Joseph 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 Iron City.

Places that used to be

Places now gone

Iron City’s post office has been open since 1888.

Gone or out of use
Iron City Schoolschool

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

Questions about Iron City’s history

What year was Iron City founded?

In 1887, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Iron City’s post office opened in 1888.

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 (11), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.