History · Atlanta

Atlanta has 231 places on the National Register, 8 of them National Historic Landmarks

More historic than 86% of U.S. towns · #18 of 263 in Georgia. What drives it

With 12% of its homes built before 1940 and 68 historic districts holding 22,601 contributing buildings. Below: 18 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, the census since 1850, and every listing on the Register.

1845first post office

231on the National Register

12%homes built before 1940

18old photos & papers

27famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Atlanta’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Atlanta began

When was Atlanta founded?

1845

The Atlanta post office opened in 1845, the earliest record of the town by name. Ten smaller post offices, Standing Peach Tree (1825), Boltonville (1842) and Marthasville (1842), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 2,572 in 18502020 census: 498,715181 years

How historic is Atlanta?

More historic than 86% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: the first Atlanta post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Atlanta’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Atlanta is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns, #18 of 263 in Georgia. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Atlanta’s overall grade.

Founding era1845, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA⁻Homes built before 194011.9% of homes (±0.6) · typical GA town 3.8% · U.S. 8.4%B⁻National Register231 listings, 22,601 historic buildings, 447 per 10,000 residents · typical GA town 10.0 · U.S. 2.4A

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 86%

NewerOlder

Georgia towns of 2,500+ (263)Ahead of 94%

Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Atlanta ranks #94 on History.

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 Atlanta’s 447 sits above most of its state (88% of Georgia towns have fewer) while its 22,601 historic buildings are more than any other U.S. town’s.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A. The pre-1940 share (±0.6 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). 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 Atlanta’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A National Historic Landmark231 places on the National Register, 8 of them National Historic Landmarks.A historic districtThe East Atlanta Historic District takes in 2,004 historic buildings.Lost villages23 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Atlanta, and 98 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 18883 editions of the USGS map, 1888 to 1981. Watch Atlanta change.

★ What stands out · On the National Register

231 listings protect 22,601 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. 8 are National Historic Landmarks, the highest tier. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed

231

National Historic Landmarks

Joel Chandler Harris House

historic buildings protected

22,601

each building in a district counts

first listed

1966

Joel Chandler Harris House

★ Landmark

Joel Chandler Harris HouseBuilt 1913

★ Landmark

Georgia State CapitolNeo-Classical Renaissance Revival

★ Landmark

King, Martin Luther, Jr., Historic DistrictQueen Anne · Built 1929

★ Landmark

U.S. Post Office and CourthouseSecond Renaissance Revival

★ Landmark

Fox TheatreNeo Mideastern

★ Landmark

Stone Hall, Atlanta UniversityBuilt 1882

★ Landmark

Sweet Auburn Historic DistrictBeaux-Arts

★ Landmark

Herndon HomeBuilt 1908

All 233 listings

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Atlanta’s post office has been open since 1845. 23 other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Standing Peach Tree

1825–1842

Boltonville

1842–1881

Marthasville

1842–1846

Atlanta

1845–today

Edwardsville

1876–1892

Howell's Mills

1876–1891

Ben Hill

1877–1956

Edgewood

1878–1904

Bolton

1881–1964

Oakdale

1885–1899

18201920today

Hamlets and corners on the map

Adams ParkAdamsvilleAnsley ParkBankhead CourtsBattle Hill HavenBellwoodBen HillBeulah HeightsBlair VillageBoltonBoulder ParkBrookhavenBrooklynBrookwoodBrookwood HillsBrowns MillBrownwoodBuckheadCabbage TownCapitol HomesCapitol ViewCarey ParkCarroll HeightsCascade Heights

Gone or out of use

Anderson Park Elementary SchoolschoolAngier SpringslocaleAngiers AcademyschoolArkwright Elementary SchoolschoolAtlanta Female InstituteschoolAtlanta Fire / Rescue Station 07buildingAtlanta Fire / Rescue Station 39buildingAtlanta HospitalhospitalAtlanta Medical CollegeschoolAtlanta StadiumparkAtlanta StockadebuildingAtlanta StockyardslocaleAtlanta Theological SeminaryschoolBaptist Memorial InstituteschoolBeaver SlidelocaleCamp JessuplocaleCapitol Hill Post Officepost officeChildrens Hospitalhospital

14cemeteries and burying grounds inside Atlanta

CrestlawnEast ViewElliottGreenwoodHollywoodLincolnMagnoliaMartin Luther King Junior and Coretta Scott King GraveMcDonaldOaklandOld South Bend HistoricRoselandSouth ViewWestview

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Atlanta came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Atlanta.

Read it all →

For thousands of years prior to the arrival of European settlers in North Georgia, the indigenous Creek people, Cherokee people, and their ancestors inhabited the area. Standing Peachtree, a Creek village where Peachtree Creek flows into the Chattahoochee River, was the closest Native American settlement to what is now Atlanta. Through the early 19th century, European Americans systematically encroached on the Creek of northern Georgia, forcing them out of the area from 1802 to 1825. The Creek were forced to leave the area in 1821, under Indian Removal by the federal government, and European American settlers arrived the following year.

ChaptersNative American settlements Western and Atlantic Railroad American Civil War Reconstruction and late 19th century 20th century Civil rights movement 1996 Summer Olympic games 21st century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Atlanta in 1889

Passages that mention Atlanta, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Before the war Mr. Peters was aligned with tlie Whig party, and vigorously opposed the secession movement. During the war he remained in Atlanta, attending to the business incident to his railroad interests, until the battle of July 22, 1S64, when, with his family and the assets of the Georgia Rail… — **History of Atlanta, Georgia**1889Read the page →
Read the text
Before the war Mr. Peters was aligned with tlie Whig party, and vigorously opposed the secession movement. During the war he remained in Atlanta, attending to the business incident to his railroad interests, until the battle of July 22, 1S64, when, with his family and the assets of the Georgia Railroad Bank, he went to Augusta. He remained in Augusta until after the surrender at Appomattox, and returned to Atlanta on the first train after the completion of the Georgia Railroad. During the reconstruction period he took a prominent part in advocating the return of the State to the Union, and in
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

The first work of a public character in which he took a prominent part was in relation to the location of the State capital at Atlanta. He saw the advantage to accrue to the city by its selection as the legislative center of the State, and he lent all his influence and power to further this end. Wh… — **History of Atlanta, Georgia**1889Read the page →
Read the text
The first work of a public character in which he took a prominent part was in relation to the location of the State capital at Atlanta. He saw the advantage to accrue to the city by its selection as the legislative center of the State, and he lent all his influence and power to further this end. When, in 1S67, the constitutional convention of Georgia convened in Atlanta, he was foremost in urging upon that body the advantages of Atlanta as the capital of the State, and when the convention finally declared, by ordinance, that Atlanta should be the seat of the State capitol it was found that there was not a building in the cit>' suit-
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.

Timeline

Atlanta, 1825 to 1963

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

19th century
1825Post officeThe Standing Peach Tree post office opens
1842Post officeThe Standing Peach Tree post office closes
1842Post officeThe Boltonville post office opens
1842Post officeThe Marthasville post office opens
1846Post officeThe Marthasville post office closes
1864In the archiveAtlanta, Georgia.) House LOC cwpb.03312
1881Post officeThe Boltonville post office closes
1882BuiltStone Hall, Atlanta University is built
1888On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1895In the archiveAtlanta, Ga. - Cotton States Exposition)- Looking north from model jail
20th century
1900In the archiveCoach H. T. Collier - the Atlanta Constitution - 13 Oct 1900
1900Born hereMargaret Mitchell is born here
1908BuiltHerndon Home is built
1913BuiltJoel Chandler Harris House is built
1929BuiltKing, Martin Luther, Jr., Historic District is built
1929Born hereMartin Luther King Jr. is born here
1962LandmarkJoel Chandler Harris House named a National Historic Landmark
1963Born hereSteven Soderbergh is born here

By decade

Atlanta, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s6 items

1864Atlanta, Georgia.) House LOC cwpb.03312

Panoramic view of city of Atlanta, Ga., from the top of the Female Seminary - extending from the Medical College on the…

1864Panoramic view of city of Atlanta, Ga., from the top …

1864Rebel fortifications

City of Atlanta, Ga., no. 1 - Photo from nature by G. N. Barnard

1866City of Atlanta, Ga., no. 1 - Photo from nature by G.…

City of Atlanta, Ga., no. 2 - Photo from nature by G. N. Barnard

1866City of Atlanta, Ga., no. 2 - Photo from nature by G.…

1890s–1900s12 items

Atlanta, Ga. - Cotton States Exposition)- Looking north from model jail

1895Atlanta, Ga. - Cotton States Exposition)- Looking nor…

Atlanta, Ga. - Cotton States Exposition)- N.Y. State Bldg

1895Atlanta, Ga. - Cotton States Exposition)- N.Y. State …

1899Negro city tenements

Coach H. T. Collier - the Atlanta Constitution - 13 Oct 1900

1900Coach H. T. Collier - the Atlanta Constitution - 13 O…

Exterior view of houses along unpaved street, Greensferry Ave., N.W

1900Exterior view of houses along unpaved street, Greensf…

Henry A. Rucker, internal revenue collector, Atlanta, Georgia, seated at large desk in office

1900Henry A. Rucker, internal revenue collector, Atlanta,…

1900Negro city tenements

1902Cannon - The Atlanta Constitution - 12 Oct 1902

1902Atlanta Biltmore Hotel

Atlanta College of Physicians and Surgeons ("American medical directory", 1906 advert)

1906Atlanta College of Physicians and Surgeons ("American…

"Gammon Library," Gammon Theological Seminary, Atlanta, Ga

1907"Gammon Library," Gammon Theological Seminary, Atlant…

Atlanta Conservatory of Music and The Cable Piano Company in

1907Atlanta Conservatory of Music and The Cable Piano Com…

1910s–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 album

On the map

Atlanta on the map, 1888 to 1981

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Atlanta. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

1888Atlanta sheet · 1:125,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Atlanta.

Every building

Atlanta, building by building, 1886–1911

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Atlanta fire insurance map, 1886, sheet 2

1886Sheet 2 of 34

Edition

Sheets

+33 more at the Library of Congress

BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & 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 viewAtlanta, Georgia.) House LOC cwpb.03312, 1864

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Atlanta’s page.

Retake this view · +15

People over time

Atlanta, census by census

Grew from 2,572 people in 1850 to 498,715 in 2020, more than tenfold.

18 censuses, 1850–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Atlanta’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

27 famous people were born in Atlanta

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →

Martin Luther King Jr.American Baptist minister and civil rights lead… · b. 1929

Julia RobertsAmerican actress · b. 1967

Margaret MitchellAmerican author and journalist · b. 1900

Steven SoderberghAmerican filmmaker · b. 1963

Chris TuckerAmerican actor and comedian · b. 1971

Chloë Grace MoretzAmerican actress · b. 1997

Help out

Finish Atlanta’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Retake an old viewAtlanta, Georgia.) House LOC cwpb.03312: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Druid Hills7 historic placesA South FultonIts storyD⁻Sandy Springs2 historic placesD North Druid HillsIts storyD East Point3 historic placesB⁻Candler-McAfeeIts storyD Hapeville2 historic placesB Belvedere ParkIts storyD Decatur19 historic placesA Vinings1 historic placeD

Questions about Atlanta’s history

What year was Atlanta founded?

The Atlanta post office opened in 1845, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Atlanta rank for history?

Atlanta is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns, #18 of 263 in Georgia. 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.

What is on the National Register in Atlanta?

231 listings, 8 of them National Historic Landmarks: 158 buildings, among them the Joel Chandler Harris House (a National Historic Landmark since 1962), 70 historic districts with 21,649 contributing buildings, 2 sites, 2 structures, and 1 object. 22,601 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Atlanta?

12% of Atlanta’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 1989.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →

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 (15), the Library of Congress (3), the National Register of Historic Places (233), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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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Atlanta has 231 places on the National Register, 8 of them National Historic Landmarks

How Atlanta began

When was Atlanta founded?

How historic is Atlanta?

What drives Atlanta’s History grade

What stands out about Atlanta’s past

231 listings protect 22,601 historic buildings

Architectural styles listings

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

How Atlanta came to be

What they wrote about Atlanta in 1889

Atlanta, 1825 to 1963

Atlanta, decade by decade

Atlanta on the map, 1888 to 1981

Atlanta, building by building, 1886–1911

Stand where they stood

Atlanta, census by census

27 famous people were born in Atlanta

Finish Atlanta’s story

History across the town line

Questions about Atlanta’s history

Memory lane

Where this page comes from