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History · Niota

Niota’s post office opened in 1897, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Niota Depot and the Elijah Cate House. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1935 on, and the census since 1920.

1897first post office
2on the National Register
23%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Niota’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Niota began

When was Niota founded?

1897

The Niota post office opened in 1897, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Mouse Creek (1855), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 467 in 19202020 census: 772129 years
Founding year: the first Niota post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Niota’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Old housesHalf of Niota’s homes were built before 1960.
★ What stands out · The story

How Niota came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Niota.

Read it all →

The community was originally called "Mouse Creek," but was renamed in 1897 to avoid confusion with a railroad stop in Jefferson City that was named "Mossy Creek." The name "Niota" was based on the name of a fictional character in a dime novel, a Native American chief named "Nee-o-tah."

The Niota Depot, built in 1854 for the East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad, is the oldest standing railroad depot in Tennessee. It currently serves as Niota City Hall.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Niota, 1823 to 1935

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1823BuiltElijah Cate House is built
  3. 1855Post officeThe Mouse Creek post office opens
  4. 1897Post officeThe Mouse Creek post office closes
  5. 1897Post officeThe Niota post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1914In the archive2 of the youngest turners at work. The boy on the right is Joseph Allsbrook. Said he was …
  8. 1935On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Niota, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s6 items
2 of the youngest turners at work. The boy on the right is Joseph Allsbrook. Said he was 11 years old and been working …19142 of the youngest turners at work. The boy on the rig…2 of the youngest turners at work. The boy on the right is Joseph Allsbrook. Said he was 11 years old and been working …19142 of the youngest turners at work. The boy on the rig…Nannie Coleson, looper who said she was 11 years old, and has been working in the Crescent Hosiery Mill for some months…1914Nannie Coleson, looper who said she was 11 years old,…One of the youngest turners at work in the Crescent Hosiery Mill. LOC nclc.029451914One of the youngest turners at work in the Crescent H…One of the youngest turners at work in the Crescent Hosiery Mill. LOC nclc.029671914One of the youngest turners at work in the Crescent H…Young knitter in the Crescent Hosiery Mill. LOC nclc.055671914Young knitter in the Crescent Hosiery Mill. LOC nclc.…
1920s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today8 recent
Niota-railroad-sign-tn12016Niota-railroad-sign-tn1Niota-church-tn12016Niota-church-tn1Niota-business-district-tn12016Niota-business-district-tn1Niota-apartment-complex-tn12016Niota-apartment-complex-tn1Niota-Library-tn12016Niota-Library-tn1Niota-Fire-Station-tn12016Niota-Fire-Station-tn1Crescent-Sock-Company-tn12016Crescent-Sock-Company-tn1Niota-tennessee2007Niota-tennessee
On the map

Niota on the map, 1935 to 1990

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

Niota on the 1935 USGS mapNiota on the 1941 USGS mapNiota on the 1974 USGS mapNiota on the 1990 USGS map1935Niota 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 Niota.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

2 of the youngest turners at work. The boy on the right is Joseph Allsbrook. Said he was 11 years old and been working …
Retake this view2 of the youngest turners at work. The boy on the right is Joseph Allsbrook. Said he was 11 years old and been working …, 1914

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Niota’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Niota

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1975
Niota Depot
Niota DepotElijah Cate House, built 1823
Buildings
Niota DepotBuilding
All 2 listings
Elijah Cate HouseBuilding · listed 1982

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Niota, census by census

02004006008001,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 956

Between 443 and 956 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Niota

Nobody well known was born in Niota itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Estes KefauverAmerican politician · b. 1903
John Tyler MorganUnited States politician and Confederate soldier · b. 1824
Dixie LeeAmerican actress, dancer, and singer · b. 1909
Thomas T. HandyUnited States general · b. 1892
Van HillearyAmerican politician · b. 1959
LatimoreAmerican singer · b. 1939
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Niota’s post office has been open since 1897. Another post office, Mouse Creek, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Mouse Creek
1855–1897
Niota
1897–today
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Acme Mill
1cemetery inside Niota
Niota

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

Help out

Finish Niota’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view2 of the youngest turners at work. The …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Niota’s history

What year was Niota founded?

The Niota post office opened in 1897, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Niota?

Two places: the Niota Depot (listed 1975) and the Elijah Cate House (1982).

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 Wikimedia Commons (14), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.