Most of New Johnsonville was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Below: maps from 1936 on and the census since 1960.
The New Johnsonville post office opened in 1955, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Trace Creek (1831) and Johnsonville (1865), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 559 in 19602020 census: 1,80471 years
How historic is New Johnsonville?
D−
Among the newest of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first New Johnsonville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives New Johnsonville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, New Johnsonville is among the newest of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of New Johnsonville’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 New Johnsonville’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (16% of Tennessee towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be D−. The pre-1940 share (±1.6 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 →
What stands out about New Johnsonville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The history of New Johnsonville is rooted in the town of Johnsonville, which was once situated on the Tennessee River about 3 miles (5 km) downstream. Johnsonville, named for Andrew Johnson, was most notably the site of the Battle of Johnsonville during the Civil War. Johnsonville was inundated by the Tennessee Valley Authority's construction of Kentucky Dam in 1944, and many of its residents moved to the current site of New Johnsonville, which was incorporated in 1949.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of New Johnsonville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1936Johnsonville 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 New Johnsonville.
People over time
New Johnsonville, census by census
Between 559 and 1,951 people in every census since 1960.
7 censuses, 1960–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on New Johnsonville’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
Famous people close to New Johnsonville
Nobody well known was born in New Johnsonville itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The New Johnsonville post office opened in 1955, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does New Johnsonville rank for history?
New Johnsonville is among the newest 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.
How old are the homes in New Johnsonville?
0.0% of New Johnsonville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.6 points), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1976.
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 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.
