Most of Powells Crossroads was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. Below: maps from 1936 on and the census since 1980.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Powells Crossroads is more historic than 14% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Powells Crossroads’ 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 Powells Crossroads’ 0.0 sits below most of its state (16% of Tennessee towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.4 points).
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 →
What stands out about Powells Crossroads’ 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 Powells Crossroads yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Powells Crossroads is a town in Marion County, Tennessee, United States. As of the 2020 census, Powells Crossroads had a population of 1,296. It is part of the Chattanooga, TN-GA Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,322 in 2010, 1,296 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Powells Crossroads, 1851 to 1936
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Powells Crossroads. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1936Ketner Gap 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 Powells Crossroads.
People over time
Powells Crossroads, census by census
Between 918 and 1,322 people in every census since 1980.
5 censuses, 1980–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Powells Crossroads’ Wikipedia page.
Famous people
Famous people close to Powells Crossroads
Nobody well known was born in Powells Crossroads itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Another post office, Looneys Creek, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Sulphur Springs
Gone or out of use
Sulphur Springs Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Powells Crossroads
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US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Powells Crossroads’ history
How does Powells Crossroads rank for history?
Powells Crossroads is more historic than 14% 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.
How old are the homes in Powells Crossroads?
4% of Powells Crossroads’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.4 points), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1980.
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 (7), 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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