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B−History
History · White House

White House’s post office opened in 1820, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 54% of U.S. towns · #75 of 177 in Tennessee. What drives it

Most of White House was built recently: 0.9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2003. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 12 buildings. Below: maps from 1954 on and the census since 1930.

1820first post office
1on the National Register
0.9%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0
Quick answers

How White House began

When was White House founded?

1820

The White House post office opened in 1820, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1829. Another post office, Tyree Springs (1823), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 239 in 19302020 census: 12,982206 years

How historic is White House?

B−

More historic than 54% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first White House post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1829.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives White House’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, White House is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #75 of 177 in Tennessee. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of White House’s overall grade.
Founding era1820, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19400.9% of homes (±0.9) · typical TN town 4.9% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register1 listing, 12 historic buildings, 8.2 per 10,000 residents · typical TN town 6.1 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 54%
NewerOlder
Tennessee towns of 2,500+ (177)Ahead of 58%

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 White House’s 8.2 sits near the middle of its state (59% of Tennessee towns have fewer) while its 12 historic buildings outnumber those of 77% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A−. The pre-1940 share (±0.9 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1829 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 White House’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 White House are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old burying grounds15 cemeteries and burying grounds inside White House.Deep rootsA post office since 1820: 206 years of White House.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start White House’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how White House’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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

White House’s post office has been open since 1820. Another post office, Tyree Springs, opened and closed inside today’s town.

White House
1820–today
Tyree Springs
1823–1866
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Rolling AcresTyree Springs
Gone or out of use
White House Quarrymine
15cemeteries and burying grounds inside White House
ArmstrongBurneyCarterCarterCarverCawthonEidson-WhiteJerniganJonesMerrittPittStricklandThomasWarrenWhite House

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

Timeline

White House, 1820 to 1997

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1820Post officeThe White House post office opens
  3. 1823Post officeThe Tyree Springs post office opens
  4. 1866Post officeThe Tyree Springs post office closes
  5. 20th century
  6. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1959Born hereDavid Parmley is born here
  8. 1961Born hereAndy Kirby is born here
  9. 1997Born hereClaire Rachel Wilkinson is born here
The story

How White House came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of White House.

Read it all →

The area that is now White House was purchased around 1828 by Richard Stone Wilks, a settler from Virginia. A trail running from Kentucky to Nashville, originally created by Native Americans, cut through the area. This trail was originally known as the Louisville & Nashville Turnpike during the mid-19th century. In 1928, the trail was renamed US Highway 31W.

ChaptersSettlersNaming the townOriginal White House torn down, building replacedGrowth and development

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

White House, decade by decade

Today15 recent
WHUD Tower 12017WHUD Tower 1Untitled photo2016Untitled photoNashville WX Dec. 27, 20152015Nashville WX Dec. 27, 2015WHITE HOUSE GREENWAY2014WHITE HOUSE GREENWAYWHITE HOUSE GREENWAY, WHITE HOUSE, TN - panoramio (8)2014WHITE HOUSE GREENWAY, WHITE HOUSE, TN - panoramio (8)WHITE HOUSE GREENWAY, WHITE HOUSE, TN - panoramio (7)2014WHITE HOUSE GREENWAY, WHITE HOUSE, TN - panoramio (7)WHITE HOUSE GREENWAY, WHITE HOUSE, TN - panoramio (6)2014WHITE HOUSE GREENWAY, WHITE HOUSE, TN - panoramio (6)WHITE HOUSE GREENWAY, WHITE HOUSE, TN - panoramio (5)2014WHITE HOUSE GREENWAY, WHITE HOUSE, TN - panoramio (5)WHITE HOUSE GREENWAY, WHITE HOUSE, TN - panoramio (4)2014WHITE HOUSE GREENWAY, WHITE HOUSE, TN - panoramio (4)WHITE HOUSE GREENWAY, WHITE HOUSE, TN - panoramio (3)2014WHITE HOUSE GREENWAY, WHITE HOUSE, TN - panoramio (3)WHITE HOUSE GREENWAY, WHITE HOUSE, TN - panoramio (2)2014WHITE HOUSE GREENWAY, WHITE HOUSE, TN - panoramio (2)WHITE HOUSE GREENWAY, WHITE HOUSE, TN - panoramio (1)2014WHITE HOUSE GREENWAY, WHITE HOUSE, TN - panoramio (1)White House, TN, USA2013White House, TN, USAWhite House, TN, USA - panoramio (1)2013White House, TN, USA - panoramio (1)White House Greenway2011White House Greenway
On the map

White House on the map, 1954 to 1974

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

White House on the 1954 USGS mapWhite House on the 1974 USGS map1954White House 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 White House.

On the National Register

1 listing protects 12 historic buildings

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
12
each building in a district counts
first listed
2010
Strickland Place Farm
Strickland Place Farm
Districts
All 1 listings
Strickland Place FarmDistrict · listed 2010

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

People over time

White House, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,0001940196019802000202012,982

Grew from 239 people in 1930 to 12,982 in 2020, more than tenfold.

6 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in White House

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

See all →
Claire Rachel WilkinsonMusical artist · b. 1997
A
Andy KirbyAmerican racing driver · b. 1961
D
David ParmleyMusical artist · b. 1959
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

MillersvilleIts storyD

Questions about White House’s history

What year was White House founded?

The White House post office opened in 1820, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1829.

How does White House rank for history?

White House is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #75 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 White House?

One place: the Strickland Place Farm (listed 2010).

How old are the homes in White House?

0.9% of White House’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 2003.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (15), 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.