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History · Philadelphia

Philadelphia dates to 1822, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1935 on and the census since 1880.

1822founded
0on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Philadelphia began

When was Philadelphia founded?

1822

Philadelphia dates its founding to 1822 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 332 in 18802020 census: 607204 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1823.The full story ↓

What stands out about Philadelphia’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Philadelphia are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsEstablished in 1822: 204 years of Philadelphia.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Philadelphia’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Timeline

Philadelphia, 1822 to 1935

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1822
    FoundingPhiladelphia is established
  3. 1822Born hereRichard M. Edwards is born here
  4. 1823Post officeThe Philadelphia post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1935On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Philadelphia came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Philadelphia.

Read it all →

Philadelphia was founded in the early 1820s by William Knox and Jacob Pearson. The town initially grew quickly and prospered as a center of business in the Sweetwater Valley. By the mid-19th century, Philadelphia had two general stores, a tanning yard, a stillhouse, and a hotel.

On October 20, 1863, during the Civil War, two Confederate cavalry regiments attacked and routed a Union brigade at Philadelphia while conducting maneuvers following the Battle of Chickamauga. The Confederates captured 700 soldiers, six cannon, and 50 supply wagons.

On October 20, 2001, there was a reenactment of the events in 1863.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Philadelphia, decade by decade

Today9 recent
Philadelphia-tennessee-church-mill-tn12016Philadelphia-tennessee-church-mill-tn1Philadelphia-railroad-tracks-tn12016Philadelphia-railroad-tracks-tn1Philadelphia-railroad-sign-tn12016Philadelphia-railroad-sign-tn1Philadelphia-Tennessee-view-tn12016Philadelphia-Tennessee-view-tn1Philadelphia-Tennessee-towers-tn12016Philadelphia-Tennessee-towers-tn1Philadelphia-Mill-Street-tn12016Philadelphia-Mill-Street-tn1Philadelphia-Bacon-Creek-bridge-tn12016Philadelphia-Bacon-Creek-bridge-tn1Philadelphia-tennessee-po22007Philadelphia-tennessee-po2Philadelphia-tennessee-full2007Philadelphia-tennessee-full
On the map

Philadelphia on the map, 1935 to 1974

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

Philadelphia on the 1935 USGS mapPhiladelphia on the 1940 USGS mapPhiladelphia on the 1952 USGS mapPhiladelphia on the 1974 USGS map1935Philadelphia 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 Philadelphia.

People over time

Philadelphia, census by census

010020030040050060070018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 656

Between 332 and 656 people in every census since 1880.

7 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Questions about Philadelphia’s history

What year was Philadelphia founded?

In 1822, according to Wikidata. Philadelphia’s post office opened in 1823, and the census of 1880 counted 332 people here.

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 (9), Wikipedia, 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.