The Troy post office opened in 1824, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1825. Another post office, Troy Station (1866), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 177 in 18502020 census: 1,423202 years
How historic is Troy?
C+
More historic than 42% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Troy post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1825.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Troy’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Troy is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Troy’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 Troy’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 C− to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1825 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Troy’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost a third of its people between 1870 and 1880, then grew 4-fold.
17 censuses, 1850–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Troy’s Wikipedia page.
Every building
Troy, building by building, 1894–1930
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.
1894Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Troy was founded in 1825 as the original county seat of Obion County. Frontiersman Davy Crockett was in attendance when the town was planted. The Paducah & Memphis Railroad extended its line from Union City to Trimble in May 1874. The line did not go through the town, but bypassed it to the south. In 1888, the Troy and Tiptonville Railroad started operations. This was a short line that connected the town with the (former Paducah & Memphis Railroad) Illinois Central Railroad at Moffat on the ICC line. Troy remained the county seat until 1890, when it was moved to Union City following a contentious legal dispute.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Troy. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1950Obion 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 Troy.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices and burying grounds
Troy’s post office has been open since 1824. Another post office, Troy Station, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Troy
1824–today
Troy Station
1866–1877
18201920today
1cemetery inside Troy
Troy
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Troy’s history
What year was Troy founded?
The Troy post office opened in 1824, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1825.
How does Troy rank for history?
Troy is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns. 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 Troy?
7% of Troy’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1984.
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 (6), Wikipedia, 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.
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