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History · La Grange

La Grange’s post office opened in 1828, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Immanuel Church. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1986 on, and the census since 1860.

1828first post office
1on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From La Grange’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How La Grange began

When was La Grange founded?

1828

The La Grange post office opened in 1828, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,112 in 18602020 census: 123198 years
Founding year: the first La Grange post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about La Grange’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Deep rootsA post office since 1828: 198 years of La Grange.
★ What stands out · Timeline

La Grange, 1828 to 1995

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1828Post officeThe Lagrange post office opens
  3. 1839Born hereDaniel D. Stevens is born here
  4. 1856Born hereDavid Bancroft Johnson is born here
  5. 1862In the archiveSeminary at La Grange, Tennessee, now used as a prison
  6. 20th century
  7. 1986On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1995In the archiveLaGrange-Ghost-River-monument
The story so far

La Grange, in brief

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

La Grange is a town in Fayette County, Tennessee, United States. As of the 2020 census, La Grange had a population of 123. A large area in the town is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as La Grange Historic District.

Its first post office opened in 1828. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 133 to 123 (-8%).

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

By decade

La Grange, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s1 item
Seminary at La Grange, Tennessee, now used as a prison1862Seminary at La Grange, Tennessee, now used as a prison
1990s1 item
LaGrange-Ghost-River-monument1995LaGrange-Ghost-River-monument
Date unknown4 to date
Immanuel Episcopal Church, Second StreetDate?Immanuel Episcopal Church, Second StreetHancock Hall, Third Street (Highway 57)Date?Hancock Hall, Third Street (Highway 57)Hancock Hall, Smokehouse, Third Street (Highway 57)Date?Hancock Hall, Smokehouse, Third Street (Highway 57)Hancock Hall, Storage Shed, Third Street (Highway 57)Date?Hancock Hall, Storage Shed, Third Street (Highway 57)
Today8 recent
La Grange TN 01-2012 0122012La Grange TN 01-2012 012La Grange TN 01-2012 0082012La Grange TN 01-2012 008La Grange TN 01-2012 0072012La Grange TN 01-2012 007La Grange TN 01-2012 0062012La Grange TN 01-2012 006La Grange TN 01-2012 0052012La Grange TN 01-2012 005La Grange TN 01-2012 0042012La Grange TN 01-2012 004La Grange TN 01-2012 0022012La Grange TN 01-2012 002La Grange TN 01-2012 0012012La Grange TN 01-2012 001
On the map

La Grange on the map in 1986

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of La Grange.

La Grange on the 1986 USGS map1986Memphis East sheet · 1:100,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of La Grange.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Seminary at La Grange, Tennessee, now used as a prison
Retake this viewSeminary at La Grange, Tennessee, now used as a prison, 1862

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on La Grange’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in La Grange

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1972
Immanuel Church
Immanuel Church
Buildings
Immanuel ChurchBuilding

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

La Grange, census by census

02004006008001,0001,200190019502000Peak: 1,112

Between 123 and 1,112 people in every census since 1860.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in La Grange

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
David Bancroft JohnsonAmerican academic administrator · b. 1856
Daniel D. StevensUnited States Navy Medal of Honor recipient · b. 1839
Help out

Start La Grange’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how La Grange’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo4 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewSeminary at La Grange, Tennessee, now u…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about La Grange’s history

What year was La Grange founded?

The La Grange post office opened in 1828, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in La Grange?

One place: the Immanuel Church (listed 1972).

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 (9), the Library of Congress (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.