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History · Summertown

Summertown’s post office opened in 1877

Most of Summertown was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986.

1877first post office
0on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Summertown began

When was Summertown founded?

1877

The Summertown post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Crestview (1891), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 856149 years
Founding year: the first Summertown post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Summertown’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 Summertown are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Summertown’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Summertown’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
The story so far

Summertown, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Summertown yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Summertown is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Lawrence County, Tennessee, United States. The population of Summertown was 866 at the 2010 census. The community has a ZIP Code of 38483. Some rural areas in neighboring Lewis and Maury counties also use a "Summertown" mailing address, but their population is not included in the Census figures.

Its first post office opened in 1877. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 866 in 2010, 856 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Summertown, 1877 to 1983

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1877Post officeThe Summertown post office opens
  3. 1891Post officeThe Crestview post office opens
  4. 1896Born hereElla E. Clark is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1951Post officeThe Crestview post office closes
  7. 1983Born hereKyle Downes is born here
By decade

Summertown, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Amish-house1-TN2009Amish-house1-TN
Famous people

3 famous people were born in Summertown

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
K
Kyle DownesCanadian-American actor · b. 1983
E
Ella E. ClarkAmerican writer · b. 1896
Luke WessmanAmerican tattoo artist
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Summertown’s post office has been open since 1877. Another post office, Crestview, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Summertown
1877–today
Crestview
1891–1951
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Crestview
1cemetery inside Summertown
Summertown

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

Questions about Summertown’s history

What year was Summertown founded?

The Summertown post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (1), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.