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B−History
History · Linden

Linden’s post office opened in 1848, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 55% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Linden was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. Its Register listing is the Perry County Courthouse. Below: 1 old photo or paper from 1928 on.

1848first post office
1on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Linden’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Linden began

When was Linden founded?

1848

The Linden post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 997178 years

How historic is Linden?

B−

More historic than 55% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Linden post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Linden’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Linden is more historic than 55% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Linden’s overall grade.
Founding era1848, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19403.8% of homes (±3.9) · typical TN town 4.9% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register1 listing, 8.9 per 10,000 residents · typical TN town 6.1 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 55%
NewerOlder

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 Linden’s 8.9 sits near the middle of its state (61% of Tennessee towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±3.9 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 Linden’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsA post office since 1848: 178 years of Linden.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Linden’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPCHS 1928: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Timeline

Linden, 1848 to 1928

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1848Post officeThe Linden post office opens
  3. 1887Born hereClyde Milan is born here
  4. 1894Born hereHorace Milan is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1927Born hereBob Harris is born here
  7. 1928In the archivePCHS 1928
The story so far

Linden, in brief

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

Linden is a town in and the county seat of Perry County, Tennessee, United States. As of the 2020 census, Linden had a population of 997. Linden was officially incorporated in 1850. Linden is served by Perry County Airport, located 3.5 miles to the southwest. Linden is named after the Thomas Campbell poem, "The Battle of Hohenlinden." Linden, Texas was in turn then named after the Tennessee town. On September 1, 1930, the central part of the city was largely destroyed by a fire.

Its first post office opened in 1848. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 908 to 997 (+10%).

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

By decade

Linden, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s1 item
PCHS 19281928PCHS 1928
1930s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today4 recent
TN-PE High School PC2202332010TN-PE High School PC220233TN-PE High School PC2202312010TN-PE High School PC220231TN-PE Commodore Hotel PC2202442010TN-PE Commodore Hotel PC220244Perry County Tennessee Courthouse2007Perry County Tennessee Courthouse
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.

PCHS 1928
Retake this viewPCHS 1928, 1928

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Linden

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1995
Perry County Courthouse
Perry County Courthouse
Buildings
Perry County CourthouseBuilding

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Linden

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

See all →
B
Bob HarrisBasketball player · b. 1927
Clyde MilanAmerican baseball player · b. 1887
Horace MilanAmerican baseball player · b. 1894

Questions about Linden’s history

What year was Linden founded?

The Linden post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Linden rank for history?

Linden is more historic than 55% 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 Linden?

One place: the Perry County Courthouse (listed 1995).

How old are the homes in Linden?

4% of Linden’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.9 points), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1974.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (5), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.