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History · Blairsville

Blairsville’s post office opened in 1835, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

Most of Blairsville was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992. Its Register listings are the Old Union County Courthouse and the Union County Jail. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1880.

1835first post office
2on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Blairsville began

When was Blairsville founded?

1835

The Blairsville post office opened in 1835, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 101 in 18802020 census: 616191 years
Founding year: the first Blairsville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Blairsville’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18864 editions of the USGS map, 1886 to 1981. Watch Blairsville change.Deep rootsA post office since 1835: 191 years of Blairsville.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Blairsville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewDETAIL OF PIN CONNECTION - Smith Bridge…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Blairsville on the map, 1886 to 1981

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

Blairsville on the 1886 USGS mapBlairsville on the 1892 USGS mapBlairsville on the 1903 USGS mapBlairsville on the 1981 USGS map1886Dahlonega 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 Blairsville.

Timeline

Blairsville, 1835 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1835Post officeThe Blairsville post office opens
  3. 1886On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1899BuiltOld Union County Courthouse is built
  5. 20th century
  6. 1928In the archiveThe North Georgia News newspaper in Blairsville, Georgia, dated March 16, 1928
  7. 1947Born hereLena Saradnik is born here
  8. 1968In the archiveDETAIL OF PIN CONNECTION - Smith Bridge, Spanning Nottely River on Dooley Road (County Ro…
  9. 1980Born hereRobby Brown is born here
The story

How Blairsville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Blairsville.

Read it all →

During the 1830s, the United States conducted Indian Removal of the Cherokee Nation and other Southeast tribes, to what was designated as Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River. This area along the Nottely River was part of the large Cherokee territory and the leader Goingsnake was born here in 1758.

After American settlers moved into this area, in 1835 the Georgia General Assembly designated Blairsville as the Union County seat. The town is named after American Revolutionary War veteran James Blair.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Blairsville, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1920s to the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s1 item
The North Georgia News newspaper in Blairsville, Georgia, dated March 16, 19281928The North Georgia News newspaper in Blairsville, Geor…Document
1930s–1950snothing 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
1960s3 items
DETAIL OF PIN CONNECTION - Smith Bridge, Spanning Nottely River on Dooley Road (County Road 83)1968DETAIL OF PIN CONNECTION - Smith Bridge, Spanning Not…DETAIL OF TOP CHORD CONNECTION SHOWING LATERAL BRACING, MAIN TIES, TOP LATERAL STRUT, AND INTERMEDIATE POST - Smith Bri…1968DETAIL OF TOP CHORD CONNECTION SHOWING LATERAL BRACIN…EAST APPROACH TO BRIDGE - Smith Bridge, Spanning Nottely River on Dooley Road (County Road 83)1968EAST APPROACH TO BRIDGE - Smith Bridge, Spanning Nott…
1970s–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
Today13 recent
Lake Trahlyta2015Lake TrahlytaLake Trahlyta - panoramio (1)2015Lake Trahlyta - panoramio (1)Hills - panoramio (35)2015Hills - panoramio (35)Blood Mountain and Slaughter Mountain2015Blood Mountain and Slaughter MountainBlood Mountain2015Blood MountainRaburn-Casteel House, Union County, GA, 18852014Raburn-Casteel House, Union County, GA, 1885Old Union County, GA Jail, 19342014Old Union County, GA Jail, 1934Old Union County, GA Jail, 1934, Old Courthouse in Background2014Old Union County, GA Jail, 1934, Old Courthouse in Ba…Pappy's Riverside Restaurant2013Pappy's Riverside RestaurantOld Union County Jail, Blairsville (Union County, Georgia)2011Old Union County Jail, Blairsville (Union County, Geo…Trail Horsetrough Falls2009Trail Horsetrough FallsRichard B. Russell overlook - panoramio (1)2009Richard B. Russell overlook - panoramio (1)Ice on the Rocks 26-12-092009Ice on the Rocks 26-12-09
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.

DETAIL OF PIN CONNECTION - Smith Bridge, Spanning Nottely River on Dooley Road (County Road 83)
Retake this viewDETAIL OF PIN CONNECTION - Smith Bridge, Spanning Nottely River on Dooley Road (County Road 83), 1968

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Blairsville

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Old Union County Courthouse
Old Union County Courthouse, built 1899Union County Jail
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Romanesque1
Old Union County CourthouseRomanesque · Built 1899
Union County JailBuilding

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

People over time

Blairsville, census by census

010020030040050060070018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 659

Between 101 and 659 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Blairsville

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

See all →
L
Lena SaradnikAmerican politician · b. 1947
R
Robby BrownAmerican football coach · b. 1980

Questions about Blairsville’s history

What year was Blairsville founded?

The Blairsville post office opened in 1835, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Blairsville?

Two places: the Old Union County Courthouse (listed 1980) and the Union County Jail (1985).

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 (17), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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) 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.