Oakland’s post office opened in 1837, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 35% of U.S. towns · #121 of 177 in Tennessee. What drives it
Most of Oakland was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2007. Its Register listing is the Oakland Presbyterian Church. Below: maps from 1943 on and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Oakland post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Oakland’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Oakland is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns, #121 of 177 in Tennessee. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Oakland’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 Oakland’s 1.0 sits below most of its state (35% of Tennessee towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B. The pre-1940 share (±0.5 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 Oakland’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Oakland yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Oakland is a town in Fayette County, Tennessee, United States. In 2020 the population of the town was 8,936, a gain of 417.8% since 2000, Reasons for this population boom, are the cities/counties low taxes, its low crime rate, and the 4 lane expansion of U.S. Highway 64 in the early 1990s.
Its first post office opened in 1837. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 6,623 to 8,936 (+35%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Oakland, census by census
Grew from 66 people in 1880 to 8,936 in 2020, more than tenfold.
11 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Oakland’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Places now gone and burying grounds
Oakland’s post office has been open since 1837.
Gone or out of use
Matthews SchoolschoolOakland High SchoolschoolPilgrim Churchchurch
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Oakland
OaklandWilson
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Oakland’s history
What year was Oakland founded?
The Oakland post office opened in 1837, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Oakland rank for history?
Oakland is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns, #121 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.
What is on the National Register in Oakland?
One place: the Oakland Presbyterian Church (listed 2002).
How old are the homes in Oakland?
0.0% of Oakland’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 2007.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
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