Kingsport’s post office opened in 1822, and 20 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 72% of U.S. towns · #33 of 177 in Tennessee. What drives it
Most of Kingsport was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. 20 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Long Island of the Holston, a National Historic Landmark, and four historic districts with 10 buildings between them. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1916 on, and the census since 1920.
The Kingsport post office opened in 1822, the earliest record of the town by name. Nine smaller post offices, Boat Yard (1809), Eden's Ridge (1831) and Greenfield (1838), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 5,692 in 19202020 census: 55,442204 years
How historic is Kingsport?
B+
More historic than 72% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Kingsport post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Kingsport’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Kingsport is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns, #33 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 Kingsport’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 Kingsport’s 8.7 sits near the middle of its state (60% of Tennessee towns have fewer) while its 49 historic buildings outnumber those of 85% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A−. The pre-1940 share (±1.3 points) is firm at this size. 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 Kingsport’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.
Kingsport was developed after the Revolutionary War, at the confluence of the North and South Forks of the Holston River. In 1787 it was known as "Salt Lick" for an ancient mineral lick. It was first settled along the banks of the South Fork, about a mile from the confluence. The Long Island of the Holston River is near the confluence, which is mostly within the present-day corporate boundaries of Kingsport. The island was an important site for the Cherokee, colonial pioneers and early settlers, and specifically mentioned in the 1770 Treaty of Lochaber.
Before the building of the railroads there was much shipping by boats. Boat-yards were strung along the river fronts through the county, the principal one being at Kingsport where there were also docks. When the timber suitable for gunwales became exhausted there or was too far inland for convenience in handling, contracts were made with builders to put boats together further up the river and start them down empty at the beginning
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
There was one main stage-route to Blountville from Abingdon. From Blountville there were three others — one going west by way of Kingsport and Rogersville; another branching off at the cemetery and going by way of Jonesboro, and the third going into Virginia by way of Estillville (now Gate City). The most important route was by way of Kingsport. Leaving Abingdon there were four relays on this route; the first at
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Kingsport, 1809 to 1960
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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 Kingsport. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1935Kingsport 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 Kingsport.
Every building
Kingsport, building by building, 1916–1925
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
The Kingsport post office opened in 1822, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Kingsport rank for history?
Kingsport is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns, #33 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 Kingsport?
20 listings: 15 buildings, 4 historic districts with 10 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 49 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Kingsport?
8% of Kingsport’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.3 points), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1975.
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 (6), Wikidata (5), the National Register of Historic Places (20), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
★ Landmark
1880
1938
