Most of Monteagle was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1989. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1936 on, and the census since 1970.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Monteagle is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Monteagle’s overall grade.
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 Monteagle’s 800 sits above most of its state (99% of Tennessee towns have fewer) while its 154 historic buildings outnumber those of 92% 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 (±4.2 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 Monteagle’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Monteagle has long served as a popular point to cross the Cumberland Plateau due to its location along a relatively narrow stretch of the plateau in southern Tennessee. One of the last groups of Cherokees removed from the Southeastern United States along the Trail of Tears passed through what is now Monteagle en route to Oklahoma in late October 1838. This group consisted of approximately 700 Cherokee led by John Bell and escorted by U.S. Army Lieutenant Edward Deas.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Monteagle is more historic than 82% 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.
What is on the National Register in Monteagle?
6 listings: 4 buildings, among them the DuBose Memorial Church Training School (listed 1980, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Monteagle Sunday School Assembly Historic District and the Wonder Cave Historic District, with 145 contributing buildings. 154 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Monteagle?
9% of Monteagle’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.2 points), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1989.
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 (14), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (6), Wikipedia, 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.
1936
1936
1936
1936
1936
1936
1939
c. 1941
2014
2014
2013
2009
2005
