Tennessee Town Apartments for Rent

The historic Tennessee Town neighborhood holds a lively mix of housing, commercial establishments, and office buildings. One mile southwest of downtown and seven blocks from the State Capitol Building, Tennessee Town offers proximity to Topeka’s vital city center.

Tenth Street borders Tennessee Town to the north. Washburn Avenue is the boundary to the west, Huntoon Street to the south, and Clay Street to the east. Washburn, Huntoon, and Tenth are major traffic arteries that link the neighborhood to the rest of Topeka. The zip code for Tennessee Town is 66604.

Tennessee Town is named for its original residents, who migrated from the old south in a great wave in 1879 and 1880. Former slaves, they were members of the Exoduster movement. Establishing businesses, schools, and churches at the western edge of Topeka, they built a free community of small homes. Several notable houses from that period still add character to the neighborhood.

The children of Tennessee Town usually attend Lowman Hill Elementary School within the neighborhood. Topeka High School is three blocks east. Liberal Arts Washburn University, also a law school, is little more than a mile south of Tennessee Town. Other Topeka colleges include Friends University, and the Baker University School of Nursing.

The striking Topeka and Shawnee Public Library stands at Tenth and Washburn streets, anchoring Tennessee Town. The quaint Old Town area is to the north of the neighborhood, within easy walking distance, while downtown Topeka is a slightly longer walk away. Tennessee Town, once at the edge of town, is now in the center of things.

At Clay and Huntoon Streets, near the southeast corner of Tennessee Town, stands a legendary locust tree. A plaque identifies it as the first tree to grow where a treeless prairie would become the city of Topeka.