Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 48% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Plainview was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992. Below: maps from 1935 on and the census since 2000.
More historic than 48% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Plainview is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns. 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 Plainview’s 40.7 sits above most of its state (82% of Tennessee towns have fewer) while its 10 historic buildings outnumber those of 76% 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 Plainview’s history is told.
Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikipedia’s history of Plainview.
Plainview would emerge into a thriving community following volunteer efforts towards the community's school, which was built in the 1920s. The school would close in the mid-20th century, prompting residents to convert the building into a community center following the donation of the structure by the Union County Board of Education to the Plainview Community Club.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Plainview. 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 Plainview.
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 1,866 and 2,125 people in every census since 2000.
3 censuses, 2000–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Plainview’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Plainview itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Plainview is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns. 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.
One place: the Booker Farm (listed 1999).
2% of Plainview’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1992.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
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