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History · Walnut Grove

Walnut Grove’s post office opened in 1870

Most of Walnut Grove was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992. Below: maps from 1936 on.

1870first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Walnut Grove began

When was Walnut Grove founded?

1870

The Walnut Grove post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 359156 years
Founding year: the first Walnut Grove post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

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

Start Walnut Grove’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Walnut Grove, in brief

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

Walnut Grove is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Hardin County, Tennessee. Walnut Grove is located on Tennessee State Route 69, north of the Alabama border. As of the 2020 census, its population was 359, down from 396 at 2010.

Its first post office opened in 1870. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 396 to 359 (-9%).

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

Timeline

Walnut Grove, 1870 to 1937

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1870Post officeThe Walnut Grove post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1936On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1937Post officeThe Walnut Grove post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Walnut Grove on the map, 1936 to 1972

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

Walnut Grove on the 1936 USGS mapWalnut Grove on the 1952 USGS mapWalnut Grove on the 1972 USGS map1936Lowryville 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 Walnut Grove.

Famous people

Famous people close to Walnut Grove

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

See all →
Sam PhillipsAmerican businessman, record executive, record … · b. 1923
W. C. HandyAmerican blues composer and musician · b. 1873
Earle MeadowsAmerican athlete · b. 1913
Jonathan RosenbaumAmerican film critic · b. 1943
Dorrit HoffleitAmerican astronomer · b. 1907
Elizabeth PattersonAmerican actress · b. 1874
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Walnut Grove had its own post office from 1870 to 1937.

Walnut Grove
1870–1937
18701950today
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Walnut Grove
Faint HopeWalnut Grove

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

Questions about Walnut Grove’s history

What year was Walnut Grove founded?

The Walnut Grove post office opened in 1870, 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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.