Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: 1 old photo or paper from 1940 on and old-book passages.
The Arabi post office opened in 1882, 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 Arabi’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Arabi.
The first permanent settlement at Arabi was made in 1888. According to tradition, the name "Arabi" was coined after a local surname. The town was chartered in 1891.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Arabi, cut from the printed page as they were published.
station should be called. After much surmise the name of Arabi” was decided upon, and Arabi it should be. So in 1891 this little town was incorporated. Its growth has continued steadily; and now it boasts a population of more than five hundred ; with its bank, supply house, churches, numerous stores; and the graded school of one hundred pupils, employthree teachers, with music added to its curriculum. Arabi is now the largest town next to Cordele, in Crisp County. It is
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Pateville is not on any railroad, but at the time of settlement was on what was known in those days as a “Star Postal Route.” This route ran from Tifton via Sycamore, Arabi, and Pateville to Gum Creek, the latter place being now knoAvn as “Coney.”
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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
![Florida [Sarasota County (part) - Washington County] -- Georgia [Appling County - Effingham County (part)]](https://images.townratings.com/story/2830/76ca86714a0f7d2443e8-l.jpg)
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Arabi’s page.
Retake this view · +15The Arabi post office opened in 1882, 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 Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
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