Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 65% of U.S. towns · #55 of 177 in Tennessee. What drives it
Most of Somerville was built recently: 0.5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 75 buildings. Below: maps from 1893 on and the census since 1860.
The Somerville post office opened in 1825, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Warren (1899), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
More historic than 65% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Somerville is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #55 of 177 in Tennessee. 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 Somerville’s 216 sits above most of its state (96% of Tennessee towns have fewer) while its 75 historic buildings outnumber those of 88% of U.S. towns.
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 →
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 Somerville’s history is told.
Lost half of its people between 1860 and 1900, then grew 4-fold.
17 censuses, 1860–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Somerville’s Wikipedia page.
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.
From Wikipedia’s history of Somerville.
The town was named to honor Lieutenant Robert Somerville, who was killed in 1814 during the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in central Alabama while serving under General Andrew Jackson. Somerville was incorporated in 1836.
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.
Born hereIngram Stainback is born here
Born hereHomesick James is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
Born hereCarlos Clark is born here
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2012Somerville TN 01-2012 001Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Somerville. 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 Somerville.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1893Sheet 1 of 1Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Somerville’s post office has been open since 1825. Another post office, Warren, 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).
The Somerville post office opened in 1825, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Somerville is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #55 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.
Two places: the Somerville Historic District (listed 1982) and the McFerren’s Grocery and Oil Company (2026).
0.5% of Somerville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1983.
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 (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
