Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1831.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Watertown’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Watertown is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Watertown’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 Watertown’s 150 sits above most of its state (93% of Tennessee towns have fewer) while its 22 historic buildings outnumber those of 80% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.0 points). Two sources give 1845.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Watertown’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Prior to the city's establishment, the land was a Revolutionary War grant to Colonel Archibald Lytle and his brother William.
Circa 1790, the grandparents of Watertown's founder, Wilson L. Waters, moved into the area. In 1845, the post office moved from nearby Three Forks to Wilson's store. Waters expanded his operations with a sawmill, gristmill and blacksmith shop. Waters' 400-acre (1.6 km2) farm eventually became Watertown.
The Nashville and Knoxville Railroad built a depot in Watertown in 1885, making it the hub of business in the area. The increased business led to a doubling of the village's size.
In 1845, according to Wikidata. Watertown’s post office opened in 1831, and the census of 1910 counted 517 people here.
How does Watertown rank for history?
Watertown is more historic than 86% 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.
What is on the National Register in Watertown?
One place: the Watertown Commercial Historic District (listed 2000).
How old are the homes in Watertown?
14% of Watertown’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.0 points), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1971.
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), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
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