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C−History
History · Lone Oak

Half of Lone Oak’s homes were built after 1989

More historic than 17% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Lone Oak was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1989. Below: maps from 1936 on.

0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Dclemens1971 · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

About Lone Oak’s history

How historic is Lone Oak?

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More historic than 17% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
History grade

What drives Lone Oak’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lone Oak is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lone Oak’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19405.6% of homes (±5.4) · typical TN town 4.9% · U.S. 8.4%CNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical TN town 6.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 17%
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 Lone Oak’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (16% of Tennessee towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.4 points).

Founding year: our sources. 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 Lone Oak’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 Lone Oak are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lone Oak’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Lone Oak, in brief

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

Lone Oak (also Browns Chapel or Top of the Mountain) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in southern Sequatchie County, Tennessee, United States. It lies along U.S. Route 127 south of the city of Dunlap, the county seat of Sequatchie County. Its elevation is 2,001 feet (610 m). As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,198, down from 1,206 at the 2010 census. Lone Oak is part of the Chattanooga, TN–GA Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,206 in 2010, 1,198 in 2020.

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

By decade

Lone Oak, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Taft Highway church of Christ2026Taft Highway church of ChristNew Beginnings Baptist Church2026New Beginnings Baptist ChurchMount Carmel Baptist Church2026Mount Carmel Baptist ChurchLone Oak Baptist Church2026Lone Oak Baptist Church
On the map

Lone Oak on the map, 1936 to 1988

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

Lone Oak on the 1936 USGS mapLone Oak on the 1945 USGS mapLone Oak on the 1958 USGS mapLone Oak on the 1969 USGS mapLone Oak on the 1976 USGS mapLone Oak on the 1988 USGS map1936Fairmount 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 Lone Oak.

Famous people

Famous people close to Lone Oak

Nobody well known was born in Lone Oak itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Bessie SmithAmerican blues singer · b. 1894
Ralphie MayAmerican stand-up comedian · b. 1972
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Arthur GoldenAmerican novelist · b. 1956
Rachel BostonAmerican actress · b. 1982
Roscoe TannerUS tennis player · b. 1951
Tamara E. JerniganAstronaut · b. 1959
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Gone or out of use
Hickey MinemineLewis Barker MineminePickett Minemine
1cemetery inside Lone Oak
Hall

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Fairmount1 historic placeC

Questions about Lone Oak’s history

How does Lone Oak rank for history?

Lone Oak is more historic than 17% 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.

How old are the homes in Lone Oak?

6% of Lone Oak’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.4 points), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1989.

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 (4), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.