Tullahoma’s post office opened in 1850, and 8 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 42% of U.S. towns · #106 of 177 in Tennessee. What drives it
Most of Tullahoma was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. 8 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 16 buildings between them. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1887 on, and the census since 1860.
The Tullahoma post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 586 in 18602020 census: 20,339176 years
How did Tullahoma get its name?
Tullahoma’s name is derived from the Choctaw phrase tʋli homma, meaning "red rock".
More on the name
An alternative explanation of the name is that Peter Decherd, who donated the land for the railroad right-of-way (and was therefore given the right to name two stations along the line), named one station Decherd, after himself, and the other as Tulkahoma (later changed to Tullahoma). Tullahoma was the name of Decherd's favorite horse, which had been named for a Choctaw chief captured by Decherd's grandfather.
How historic is Tullahoma?
C+
More historic than 42% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Tullahoma is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns, #106 of 177 in Tennessee. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Tullahoma’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 Tullahoma’s 11.8 sits above most of its state (67% of Tennessee towns have fewer) while its 25 historic buildings outnumber those of 81% 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 (±1.5 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 Tullahoma’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
AndersonBel-AireBriarwoodFlowertownForrest ParkHickory Hill EstatesHomaway VillageJohnstownKaywoodLake HillsLake Tullahoma EstatesOak ParkPineview HeightsPlainview HeightsSharondaleSouthgate ParkTara EstatesWestside HeightsWestwoodWhite Oak Trailer Park
Gone or out of use
Brandon Training SchoolschoolCarroll SchoolschoolFitzgerald and Clarke Preparatory SchoolschoolFlower Town SchoolschoolJessie Mai Aydelott CollegeschoolMartin College for GirlsschoolRagan SchoolschoolTullahoma Public SchoolschoolWilliam Northern Army Air FieldmilitaryWoolwine Schoolschool
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Tullahoma
Camp ForrestEvergreenHoltMaplewoodOakwoodReynolds
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Every building
Tullahoma, building by building, 1887–1913
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.
Tullahoma was founded in 1852 as a work camp along the new Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad. Its name is derived from the Choctaw phrase tʋli homma, meaning "red rock". An alternative explanation (see Sam Davis Elliott's Soldier of Tennessee and sources cited therein) of the name is that Peter Decherd, who donated the land for the railroad right-of-way (and was therefore given the right to name two stations along the line), named one station Decherd, after himself, and the other as Tulkahoma (later changed to Tullahoma). Tullahoma was the name of Decherd's favorite horse, which had been named for a Choctaw chief captured by Decherd's grandfather. (There was also a town called Tullahoma in Mississippi, which later changed its name to Grenada.)
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 Tullahoma post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Tullahoma rank for history?
Tullahoma is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns, #106 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.
What is on the National Register in Tullahoma?
8 listings: 5 buildings and 3 historic districts, the L. D. Hickerson House, the North Atlantic Street Historic District and the North Washington Street Historic District, with 16 contributing buildings. 25 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Tullahoma?
3% of Tullahoma’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.5 points), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1977.
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 (14), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (8), 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.
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