Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 61% of U.S. towns · #65 of 177 in Tennessee. What drives it
Most of Oak Hill was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1958. Below: maps from 1932 on and the census since 1960.
More historic than 61% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Oak Hill is more historic than 61% of U.S. towns, #65 of 177 in Tennessee. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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 Oak Hill’s 19.5 sits above most of its state (73% of Tennessee towns have fewer) while its 9 historic buildings outnumber those of 75% of U.S. towns.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Oak Hill’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Oak Hill.
During the 1790s, Judge John Overton established a horse-breeding farm at Oak Hill known as Travellers Rest. After World War II Oak Hill, like other Nashville neighborhoods, saw an increase of new residents and homes being built. Oak Hill incorporated as a city in 1952, just before the governments of Davidson County and Nashville merged.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Oak Hill. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Oak Hill.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Between 4,301 and 4,891 people in every census since 1960.
7 censuses, 1960–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Oak Hill’s Wikipedia page.
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Oak Hill is more historic than 61% of U.S. towns, #65 of 177 in Tennessee. 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.
Three places: the Overton Lane (listed 1980), the Longview (1983) and the Glen Leven (2008).
7% of Oak Hill’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.9 points), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1958.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (3), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
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