The story
Read it all →How Selmer came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Selmer.
The community is named after Selma, Alabama. It incorporated in 1901.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
C−History
History · Selmer
Selmer’s post office opened in 1887
More historic than 20% of U.S. towns · #149 of 177 in Tennessee. What drives it
Most of Selmer was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: maps from 1936 on and the census since 1900.
1887first post office
0on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Quick answers
How Selmer began
When was Selmer founded?
1887
The Selmer post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1901.
First census: 588 in 19002020 census: 4,446139 years
How historic is Selmer?
C−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 20% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Selmer post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1901.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Selmer’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Selmer is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #149 of 177 in Tennessee. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Selmer’s overall grade.
Founding era1887, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19404.9% of homes (±3.2) · typical TN town 4.9% · U.S. 8.4%CNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical TN town 6.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 20%
NewerOlder
Tennessee towns of 2,500+ (177)Ahead of 16%
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 Selmer’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 (±3.2 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1901.
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 Selmer’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Selmer’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Selmer’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
Selmer, 1887 to 1976
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1887Post officeThe Selmer post office opens
- 20th century
- 1936
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1976Born hereChad Harville is born here
By decade
Selmer, decade by decade
2014
2013
2013
2008On the map
Selmer on the map, 1936 to 1984
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Selmer. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1936Purdy sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Selmer.
People over time
Selmer, census by census
Between 529 and 4,541 people in every census since 1900.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Selmer’s Wikipedia page.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Selmer’s history
What year was Selmer founded?
The Selmer post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1901.
How does Selmer rank for history?
Selmer is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #149 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 Selmer?
5% of Selmer’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.2 points), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1977.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (4), 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.