Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: old-book passages.
The Allentown post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Allentown’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Allentown.
Allentown was named in 1891 when the Macon, Dublin & Savannah Railroad was extended to that point. John Allen, an early postmaster, gave the town his last name. Allentown was incorporated in 1901.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Allentown, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The track was laid, the engine, such an awe-inspiring sight to country folk, came puffing along to Allentown, the old cross road (Macon to Dublin, Cochran to Irwinton), the postoffice for this sec¬ tion for years, where it was conceded the station would be es¬ tablished. But, to the surprise of all concerned, some at Allentown decided this was not the logical place for a town, so other arrange¬ ments had to be made. During the delay of selecting a town site a small girl, living near the present site of Danville, was presented
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
in the early Eighteen Twenties a new postoffiice, Ramah, located at the forks of the road just above Ramah church was established. In 1828 another postoffice was created at Cool Spring, the present site of Allentown. Mail was de¬ livered once a week from Milledgeville. The Great Fire of 1831. On October 2, 1831, fire broke out in Irwinton burning several of the best buildings in the town, including the tavern, stores, etc. The loss fell
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Nobody well known was born in Allentown itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Allentown post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikipedia, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
