More historic than 2% of U.S. towns · #175 of 177 in Tennessee. What drives it
Most of Seymour was built recently: 0.6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1993. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1936 on, and the census since 2000.
The Seymour post office opened in 1914, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Trundle's Cross Roads (1838), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 8,550 in 20002020 census: 14,705112 years
How historic is Seymour?
D−
More historic than 2% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Seymour post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Seymour’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Seymour is more historic than 2% of U.S. towns, #175 of 177 in Tennessee. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Seymour’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 Seymour’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 still be D−. The pre-1940 share (±0.6 points) is firm at this size. 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 Seymour’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Seymour was originally the site of Newell's Station, a frontier station established by early Sevier County pioneer Samuel Newell (1754–1841) in 1783. The first court of Sevier County, State of Franklin, was held at Newell's Station in March 1785. During the 19th century, the community was known as Trundles Crossroads where the main road from Sevierville forked, with one branch continuing northward to Knoxville and one branch westward to Maryville (now the intersection of Boyds Creek Highway and Old Sevierville Pike).
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 Seymour post office opened in 1914, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Seymour rank for history?
Seymour is more historic than 2% of U.S. towns, #175 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 Seymour?
0.6% of Seymour’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1993.
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 (5), 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.
1992
2010
