Woodbury dates to 1819, and 5 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 73% of U.S. towns · #31 of 177 in Tennessee. What drives it
Most of Woodbury was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1968. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1908 on, and the census since 1870.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Woodbury is more historic than 73% of U.S. towns, #31 of 177 in Tennessee. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Woodbury’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 Woodbury’s 39.7 sits above most of its state (81% of Tennessee towns have fewer) while its 11 historic buildings outnumber those of 76% 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 (±4.7 points). Two sources give 1819.
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 Woodbury’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost half of its people between 1910 and 1920, then grew 9-fold.
16 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Woodbury’s Wikipedia page.
On the map
Woodbury on the map, 1908 to 1979
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Woodbury. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1908Woodbury sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Woodbury.
The story so far
Woodbury, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Woodbury yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Woodbury is a town in Cannon County, Tennessee, United States. Woodbury is part of the Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area and is located 55 miles (89 km) southeast of downtown Nashville. As of the 2020 census, Woodbury had a population of 2,703. It is the county seat of Cannon County.
Woodbury was established in 1819. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 2,680 in 2010, 2,703 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Woodbury, 1819 to 2020
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
In 1819, according to Wikidata. Woodbury’s post office opened in 1836, and the census of 1870 counted 329 people here.
How does Woodbury rank for history?
Woodbury is more historic than 73% of U.S. towns, #31 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 Woodbury?
5 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Baptist Female College-Adams House (listed 1987, the first). 11 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Woodbury?
7% of Woodbury’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.7 points), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1968.
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 (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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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