The story
Read it all →How Arcade came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Arcade.
Arcade was chartered in 1909. Early plans to erect an arcade-style schoolhouse accounts for the name.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
DHistory
History · Arcade
Half of Arcade’s homes were built after 1996
More historic than 9% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Arcade was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1996. Below: 1 old photo or paper from 1940 on.
0on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Quick answers
About Arcade’s history
How historic is Arcade?
D
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 9% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
History grade
What drives Arcade’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Arcade is more historic than 9% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Arcade’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19401.8% of homes (±1.7) · typical GA town 3.8% · U.S. 8.4%C−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical GA town 10.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 9%
NewerOlder
Georgia towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Georgia town has 10.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Arcade’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (16% of Georgia towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±1.7 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: our sources. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Arcade’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Arcade’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Arcade’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.By decade
Arcade, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
19401950s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your albumThen & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewGeorgia [Effingham County (part) - Newton County (part), 1940
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Arcade’s page.
Retake this view · +15Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Arcade
Nobody well known was born in Arcade itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
C
Crawford Williamson LongAmerican physician · b. 1815
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Arcade’s history
How does Arcade rank for history?
Arcade is more historic than 9% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Arcade?
2% of Arcade’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.7 points), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 1996.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Start a conversation
Sources
Where this page comes from
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikipedia and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.