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History · Stanton

Stanton was first counted by the census in 1880, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Stanton Masonic Lodge and School and the Stanton School. Below: maps from 1952 on and the census since 1880.

1880first census
2on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Stanton began

When was Stanton founded?

1880

Stanton first appears in the census in 1880. Another post office, Stanton Depot (1860), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 254 in 18802020 census: 417146 years
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓

What stands out about Stanton’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Stanton are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 615 in 2000; 417 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Stanton’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Stanton’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Stanton, census by census

010020030040050060018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 615

Peaked at 615 in 2000; 417 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Stanton’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Stanton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Stanton.

Read it all →

Joseph Blackwell Stanton purchased the land that is now the town of Stanton in the early 1830s for roughly $3.50 per acre. Stanton used his influence in the area to ensure the railroad line ran through his land, and thereafter numerous families moved to the community from the nearby Wesley community some four miles to the west. Initial businesses in the area were a depot operated by Corydon Spencer and a store operated by F.W. Chaney, who also served as the small town's first postmaster. Stanton passed soon after this influx of population, and his property passed to his daughter, the wife of Colonel Nathan Adams of the 254th Transportation Battalion. The couple began selling lots in town and saw many of the remaining businesses and homes of Wesley move to Stanton. Mrs. Adams was a staunch prohibitionist and ensured the establishment of a clause barring the sale of whiskey in the town. A…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Stanton, 1860 to 2000

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1860Post officeThe Stanton Depot post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1903Post officeThe Stanton Depot post office closes
  5. 1903Post officeThe Stanton post office opens
  6. 1952On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 21st century
  8. 2000CensusPopulation peaks at 615
By decade

Stanton, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Stanton School-Stanton TN2022Stanton School-Stanton TNStanton Masonic Lodge and School-Stanton TN2022Stanton Masonic Lodge and School-Stanton TNTennessee State Route 76 northbound2011Tennessee State Route 76 northbound
On the map

Stanton on the map, 1952 to 1983

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Stanton. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Stanton on the 1952 USGS mapStanton on the 1983 USGS map1952Stanton 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 Stanton.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Stanton

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1987
Stanton Masonic Lodge and School
Stanton Masonic Lodge and SchoolStanton School
Buildings
All 2 listings
Stanton Masonic Lodge and SchoolBuilding · listed 1987Stanton SchoolBuilding · listed 2020

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Stanton

Nobody well known was born in Stanton itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Tina TurnerAmerican-born Swiss singer and songwriter · b. 1939
Isaac HayesAmerican musician and actor · b. 1942
E
Elizabeth BoldenAmerican supercentenarian · b. 1890
Sleepy John EstesAmerican blues guitarist, songwriter and singer · b. 1899
The Honky Tonk ManAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1953
Augustus Hill GarlandAmerican politician · b. 1832
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Stanton’s post office has been open since 1903. Another post office, Stanton Depot, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Stanton Depot
1860–1903
Stanton
1903–today
18601940today
Gone or out of use
Stanton Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Stanton
Chote

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Stanton’s history

What year was Stanton founded?

The Stanton post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Stanton?

Two places: the Stanton Masonic Lodge and School (listed 1987) and the Stanton School (2020).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (3), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.