Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 29% of U.S. towns · #134 of 177 in Tennessee. What drives it
Most of Maynardville was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1994. Its Register listing is the Maynardville State Bank. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1897 on, and the census since 1860.
Maynardville dates its founding to 1850 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1860.
More historic than 29% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Maynardville is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns, #134 of 177 in Tennessee. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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 Maynardville’s 4.0 sits near the middle of its state (45% of Tennessee towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Maynardville’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Maynardville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Maynardville.
From Wikipedia’s history of Maynardville.
Maynardville began in the early 19th century as a small community known as Liberty. When Union County was created in the 1850s, Liberty, being nearest the center of the county, was chosen as the county seat. The land for the courthouse square was donated by Marcus Monroe, a local minister.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereWarren Williams Sanders is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
Born hereRoy Acuff is born here
BuiltMaynardville State Bank is built
Born hereCarl Smith is born here
In the archiveMaynardville-musicians-tn1One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Maynardville’s page.
Retake this view · +15The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Grew from 188 people in 1860 to 2,456 in 2020, more than tenfold.
11 censuses, 1860–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Maynardville’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Maynardville’s post office has been open since 1856. Another post office, Racoon Valley, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
In 1850, according to Wikidata. Maynardville’s post office opened in 1846, and the census of 1860 counted 188 people here.
Maynardville is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns, #134 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.
One place: the Maynardville State Bank (listed 2001).
4% of Maynardville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.8 points), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1994.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (9), 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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