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History · Attapulgus

Attapulgus’ post office opened in 1838

Most of Attapulgus was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1960. Below: maps from 1954 on and the census since 1870.

1838first post office
0on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: The Bushranger · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Attapulgus began

When was Attapulgus founded?

1838

The Attapulgus post office opened in 1838, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 267 in 18702020 census: 454188 years
Founding year: the first Attapulgus post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Attapulgus’ past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Attapulgus are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 623 in 1980; 454 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsA post office since 1838: 188 years of Attapulgus.Old housesHalf of Attapulgus’ homes were built before 1960.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Attapulgus’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Attapulgus’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Attapulgus, census by census

010020030040050060018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 623

Peaked at 623 in 1980; 454 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Timeline

Attapulgus, 1838 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1838Post officeThe Attapulgus post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1926Born hereHosea Williams is born here
  5. 1939Born hereKen Rice is born here
  6. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 623
The story so far

Attapulgus, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Attapulgus yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Attapulgus is a city in Decatur County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 454, up from 449 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Bainbridge, Georgia micropolitan statistical area. The town's name is a Muscogee word meaning "Dogwood"; due to the abundance of attapulgite, which makes up the clay soil throughout much of the Southeast, the mineral was named after the town. Attapulgus was the birthplace of civil rights leader Hosea Williams (1926–2000), who is said to have been run out of town by a lynch mob at the age of 13. He is remembered around the world for his close association with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and for leading, with John Lewis, the…

Its first post office opened in 1838. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 449 in 2010, 454 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

Attapulgus, decade by decade

Today5 recent
MOW equipment in2025MOW equipment inHLCX 3814 in2025HLCX 3814 inAttapulgus Presbyterian Cemetery2025Attapulgus Presbyterian CemeteryAttapulgus Baptist Church Cemetery2025Attapulgus Baptist Church CemeteryGAMap-doton-Attapulgus2005GAMap-doton-Attapulgus
On the map

Attapulgus on the map, 1954 to 1988

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

Attapulgus on the 1954 USGS mapAttapulgus on the 1960 USGS mapAttapulgus on the 1978 USGS mapAttapulgus on the 1988 USGS map1954Tallahassee sheet · 1:250,000

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Attapulgus

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

See all →
Ken RiceAmerican football player · b. 1939
Hosea WilliamsAmerican civil rights leader and activist · b. 1926

Questions about Attapulgus’ history

What year was Attapulgus founded?

The Attapulgus post office opened in 1838, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (5), 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) 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.