The Red Bank post office opened in 1875, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Hamilton (1822) and Valdeau (1897), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 10,777 in 19602020 census: 11,899151 years
How historic is Red Bank?
C
More historic than 32% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Red Bank post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Red Bank’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Red Bank is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #130 of 177 in Tennessee. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Red Bank’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 Red Bank’s 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 any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.1 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 Red Bank’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Red Bank was originally known as "Pleasant Hill". When a post office was established in the community in 1881, but it was asked to adopt a new name, since the name "Pleasant Hill" was already taken. The name "Red Bank" was chosen by the wife of the first postmaster, George Hartman. It was inspired by the red clay ridge that was visible from a window in her house. In 1955, the communities of Red Bank and White Oak incorporated as a single town called "Red Bank-White Oak". In 1966, the city voted to drop the "White Oak" for simplification purposes.
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.
The Red Bank post office opened in 1875, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Red Bank rank for history?
Red Bank is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #130 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.
How old are the homes in Red Bank?
15% of Red Bank’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1966.
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), 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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