Mercer was founded in 1888 by T. B. Mercer, for whom the community is named, at an intersection of a stagecoach road and the Tennessee Midland Railroad. Mercer erected a general store at the intersection, and it was followed in 1894 by a railroad station officially named Mercer. By the turn of the century, a lumber company and several churches had been established in the area. The community eventually had a bank and an opera house, but the former failed in 1933 and the latter burned down in the late 20th century.
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 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.
