History · Baxter

Baxter’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Baxter. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
5recent photos

The story so far

from the U.S. Census

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,365 to 1,578 (+16%). Half of its homes were built before 1987.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Baxter yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Be one of the first

Start Baxter’s collection

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

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people from Baxter

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By decade

Baxter, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Baxter is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Baxter has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is John's Place in Cookeville, 6.5 miles away.

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. John's Place’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Baxter?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Baxter’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history

From Wikimedia Commons (5). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

The coffee’s on

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01