Kingston Springs’ post office opened in 1865, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 42% of U.S. towns · #101 of 177 in Tennessee. What drives it
Most of Kingston Springs was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992. Its Register listing is the Kingston Springs Hotel and Buildings. Below: maps from 1930 on and the census since 1970.
Founding year: the first Kingston Springs post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Kingston Springs’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Kingston Springs is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns, #101 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 Kingston Springs’ 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 Kingston Springs’ 21.5 sits above most of its state (75% of Tennessee towns have fewer) while its 6 historic buildings outnumber those of 72% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share (±2.9 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 Kingston Springs’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The area around Kingston Springs was inhabited by Indigenous peoples for thousands of years before European settlement, with early settlers drawn by the Harpeth River and local sulfur springs. The first known white settler, Lewis Dunn, received a land grant for his service in the Revolutionary War and established his family near the river in 1807. A large hotel and tavern was built in 1819 near mineral springs to serve visitors seeking the purported therapeutic qualities of the water, helping establish the community as a resort destination. The town was formally incorporated in 1965 with a population of 290, and municipal sewer service was added in 1989, spurring residential growth and development.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Kingston Springs. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1930White Bluff sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Kingston Springs.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Kingston Springs
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
The Kingston Springs post office opened in 1865, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Kingston Springs rank for history?
Kingston Springs is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns, #101 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 Kingston Springs?
One place: the Kingston Springs Hotel and Buildings (listed 1979).
How old are the homes in Kingston Springs?
4% of Kingston Springs’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.9 points), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1992.
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 (2), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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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