Idlewild, Tennessee facts for kids

Idlewild is a small, unincorporated community located in Gibson County, Tennessee, in the United States. An "unincorporated community" means it's a place where people live, but it doesn't have its own local government like a city or town.

Discovering Idlewild: A Brief Look

Idlewild started to form in the 1870s. At first, it had different names like Thedford and Sprawling. These names came from early settlers who had those last names. No one is quite sure how the name Idlewild came to be!

How Idlewild Began

In 1887, a history book called Goodspeed's History of Tennessee mentioned Idlewild. It described the community as a "station on the Illinois Central Railroad south of Bradford." This means it was a stop along the railroad tracks, which was important for travel and trade back then. The book also said that Idlewild was established in 1873, but it "never attained much importance." This just means it stayed a small community rather than growing into a big city.

The Idlewild Post Office

Today, Idlewild is home to a post office, which has the zip code 38346. In 2011, the U.S. Postal Service looked at almost 32,000 post offices, including Idlewild's, to see if they could offer postal services in other ways, like through a local store. This was a way to make sure people could still send and receive mail efficiently.