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History · Wartrace

Wartrace’s post office opened in 1846, and 39% of its homes were built before 1940

5 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 133 buildings. Below: maps from 1936 on and the census since 1880.

1846first post office
5on the National Register
39%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Wartrace began

When was Wartrace founded?

1846

The Wartrace post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Wartrace Depot (1852), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 468 in 18802020 census: 653180 years
Founding year: the first Wartrace post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Wartrace’s past

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

A historic districtThe Wartrace Historic District takes in 133 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Wartrace are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsA post office since 1846: 180 years of Wartrace.Landmarks on the Register5 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

5 listings protect 138 historic buildings

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

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
138
each building in a district counts
first listed
1984
Walking Horse Hotel
Walking Horse HotelWartrace Historic DistrictJohn Green Sims House, built 1884Valley Home
BuildingsDistricts
Walking Horse HotelBuilding
Henry A. Clark HouseBuilding
Wartrace Historic DistrictDistrict
All 5 listings
John Green Sims HouseBuilding · listed 1987Valley HomeBuilding · listed 1989

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

Help out

Start Wartrace’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Wartrace’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
Timeline

Wartrace, 1846 to 1936

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1846Post officeThe Wartrace post office opens
  3. 1852Post officeThe Wartrace Depot post office opens
  4. 1883Post officeThe Wartrace Depot post office closes
  5. 1884BuiltJohn Green Sims House is built
  6. 20th century
  7. 1906Born hereFred Russell is born here
  8. 1926Born hereJimmy Cleveland is born here
  9. 1936On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Wartrace came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Wartrace.

Read it all →

The name "Wartrace" is rooted in a Native American trail that once passed through the area. The town, initially known as "Wartrace Depot," was established in the early 1850s as a stop on the newly constructed Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad.

During the Civil War, the town was the winter headquarters of Confederate General William J. Hardee during the aftermath of the Battle of Stones River, and the Old Chockley Tavern in Wartrace was a gathering place for Confederate officers during the Tullahoma Campaign. A skirmish was fought at Wartrace on April 11, 1862.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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.
Add from your album
On the map

Wartrace on the map, 1936 to 1980

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

Wartrace on the 1936 USGS mapWartrace on the 1949 USGS mapWartrace on the 1951 USGS mapWartrace on the 1980 USGS map1936Wartrace 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 Wartrace.

People over time

Wartrace, census by census

010020030040050060070018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 686

Between 468 and 686 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Wartrace

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

See all →
Jimmy ClevelandAmerican jazz trombonist · b. 1926
Fred RussellAmerican sportswriter · b. 1906
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Wartrace’s post office has been open since 1846. Another post office, Wartrace Depot, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Wartrace
1846–today
Wartrace Depot
1852–1883
18401930today
1cemetery inside Wartrace
Hollywood

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

Questions about Wartrace’s history

What year was Wartrace founded?

The Wartrace post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Wartrace?

5 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Walking Horse Hotel (listed 1984, the first), and 1 historic district, the Wartrace Historic District, with 133 contributing buildings. 138 historic buildings in all.

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 the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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) 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.