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History · Lynnville

Lynnville’s post office opened in 1838, and 68% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 54 buildings. Below: maps from 1905 on and the census since 1870.

1838first post office
1on the National Register
68%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Jason Dunnivant · CC BY 2.0
Quick answers

How Lynnville began

When was Lynnville founded?

1838

The Lynnville post office opened in 1838, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 154 in 18702020 census: 292188 years
Founding year: the first Lynnville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Lynnville’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 Lynnville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Lynnville Historic District takes in 54 historic buildings.Old housesHalf of Lynnville’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 596 in 1910; 292 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lynnville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lynnville’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
On the National Register

1 listing protects 54 historic buildings

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
54
each building in a district counts
first listed
1988
Lynnville Historic District
Lynnville Historic District
Districts
All 1 listings
Lynnville Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1988

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

The story so far

Lynnville, in brief

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

Lynnville is a town in Giles County, Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, Lynnville had a population of 292. The name is from a local creek. Richland High School is located near Lynnville and serves the town and surrounding areas.

Its first post office opened in 1838. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 287 in 2010, 292 in 2020.

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

Timeline

Lynnville, 1838 to 1936

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1838Post officeThe Lynnville post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 596
  5. 1936On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Lynnville, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Lynnville Railroad Museum2022Lynnville Railroad MuseumLynnville First Baptist Church2022Lynnville First Baptist Church
On the map

Lynnville on the map, 1936 to 1951

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

Lynnville on the 1936 USGS mapLynnville on the 1951 USGS map1936Lynnville 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 Lynnville.

Every building

Lynnville, building by building, 1905–1910

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.

Lynnville fire insurance map, 1905, sheet 11905Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

People over time

Lynnville, census by census

010020030040050060018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 596

Peaked at 596 in 1910; 292 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Lynnville

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

See all →
Michael JeterAmerican actor · b. 1952
Sondra LockeAmerican actress · b. 1944
Nathan Bedford ForrestConfederate States Army general · b. 1821
John B. CalhounAmerican ethologist and behavioral researcher · b. 1917
John Crowe RansomAmerican poet · b. 1888
Marcus HaislipAmerican basketball player · b. 1980

Questions about Lynnville’s history

What year was Lynnville founded?

The Lynnville post office opened in 1838, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Lynnville?

One place: the Lynnville Historic District (listed 1988).

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 (2), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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 and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.