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History · Middleton

Middleton was first counted by the census in 1860, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1950 on and the census since 1860.

1860first census
0on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Middleton began, and where its name came from

When was Middleton founded?

1860

Middleton first appears in the census in 1860. Another post office, Middleton Station (1865), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 143 in 18602020 census: 658166 years

How did Middleton get its name?

Middleton was named after an official at the Memphis and Charleston Railroad.

Founding year: the first census. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Middleton’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 Middleton are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Middleton’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Middleton’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

How Middleton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Middleton.

Read it all →

It is believed that early settlers in Middleton came from Slab Town, a small settlement about 3 miles (5 km) north. The town was originally called "Jenkins-McCommons Crossing", after Jesse Jenksins and William Taylor McCommons. These two men came to the area from North Carolina in 1849 and donated the majority of land where Middleton is today. Following the expansion of the Memphis and Charleston Railroad and the construction of a railroad depot, Middleton was chartered in 1850. It was named after an official at the Memphis and Charleston Railroad. The town suffered greatly during the Civil War. After the war, only one building, a small log structure that served as a store, was left standing.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Middleton, 1865 to 1999

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1865Post officeThe Middleton Station post office opens
  3. 1882Post officeThe Middleton Station post office closes
  4. 1882Post officeThe Middleton post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1918Born hereEstelle Axton is born here
  7. 1930Born hereJim Stewart is born here
  8. 1937Born hereBailey Howell is born here
  9. 1950On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1999Born hereChelsey Perry is born here
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Middleton on the map, 1950 to 1980

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

Middleton on the 1950 USGS mapMiddleton on the 1980 USGS map1950Middleton 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 Middleton.

People over time

Middleton, census by census

0100200300400500600700190019502000Peak: 706

Between 143 and 706 people in every census since 1860.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Middleton

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

See all →
Bailey HowellAmerican basketball player · b. 1937
J
Jim StewartAmerican record producer and executive · b. 1930
E
Estelle AxtonAmerican music industry professional and co-fou… · b. 1918
C
Chelsey PerryAmerican basketball player · b. 1999
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Middleton’s post office has been open since 1882. Another post office, Middleton Station, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Middleton Station
1865–1882
Middleton
1882–today
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Poor

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Middleton’s history

What year was Middleton founded?

The Middleton post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 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.