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C+History
History · Oneida

Oneida’s post office opened in 1880, and 10% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 40% of U.S. towns · #110 of 177 in Tennessee. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Louis E. Bryant House. Its Register listing is the Louis E. Bryant House. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1952 on, and the census since 1920.

1880first post office
1on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Oneida began

When was Oneida founded?

1880

The Oneida post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Verdun (1923), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 943 in 19202020 census: 3,787146 years

How historic is Oneida?

C+

More historic than 40% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Oneida post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Oneida’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Oneida is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns, #110 of 177 in Tennessee. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Oneida’s overall grade.
Founding era1880, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194010.2% of homes (±5.4) · typical TN town 4.9% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register1 listing, 2.6 per 10,000 residents · typical TN town 6.1 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 40%
NewerOlder
Tennessee towns of 2,500+ (177)Ahead of 38%

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 Oneida’s 2.6 sits near the middle of its state (40% 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 C to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.4 points). 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 Oneida’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Oneida’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Oneida’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBig South Fork Archaeological sites: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Oneida, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Oneida yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Oneida is a town in Scott County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 3,787 at the 2020 census. Oneida is known for its proximity to the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area. The town is named for Oneida, New York, the home of several railroad executives who helped develop the town in the late 19th century.

Its first post office opened in 1880. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 3,752 in 2010, 3,787 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Oneida, 1880 to 1977

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880Post officeThe Oneida post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1905BuiltLouis E. Bryant House is built
  5. 1923Post officeThe Verdun post office opens
  6. 1935Post officeThe Verdun post office closes
  7. 1943Born hereThomas W. Phillips is born here
  8. 1951Born hereMike Duncan is born here
  9. 1952On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1977In the archiveBig South Fork Archaeological sites
By decade

Oneida, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1970s1 item
Big South Fork Archaeological sites1977Big South Fork Archaeological sites
1980s–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
Today7 recent
Bandy Creek Campground, Oneida 7-2-22 - Flickr - Sharon Mollerus2022Bandy Creek Campground, Oneida 7-2-22 - Flickr - Shar…Oneida-library-tn12015Oneida-library-tn1Oneida-US27-tn12015Oneida-US27-tn1Oneida-TN456-tn12015Oneida-TN456-tn1Oneida-Municipal-Drive-tn12015Oneida-Municipal-Drive-tn1Oneida-Main-Street-tn12015Oneida-Main-Street-tn12010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map for20102010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map forBook
On the map

Oneida on the map in 1952

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Oneida.

Oneida on the 1952 USGS map1952Oneida South 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 Oneida.

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.

Big South Fork Archaeological sites
Retake this viewBig South Fork Archaeological sites, 1977

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Oneida

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1975
Louis E. Bryant House
Louis E. Bryant House, built 1905
Buildings
Louis E. Bryant HouseBuilt 1905

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

People over time

Oneida, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0001920194019601980200020203,787

Grew from 943 people in 1920 to 3,787 in 2020, 4 times over.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Oneida

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Mike DuncanAmerican political activist · b. 1951
Thomas W. PhillipsUnited States federal judge · b. 1943
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Oneida’s post office has been open since 1880. Another post office, Verdun, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Oneida
1880–today
Verdun
1923–1935
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
VerdunWest Oneida
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Oneida
CarsonCarsonCoffeeMarcum

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

WinfieldIts storyD

Questions about Oneida’s history

What year was Oneida founded?

The Oneida post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Oneida rank for history?

Oneida is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns, #110 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 Oneida?

One place: the Louis E. Bryant House (listed 1975).

How old are the homes in Oneida?

10% of Oneida’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.4 points), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1976.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (8), 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.