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History · Bluffton

Bluffton’s post office opened in 1875, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1973 on, and the census since 1880.

1875first post office
0on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Bluffton’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Bluffton began

When was Bluffton founded?

1875

The Bluffton post office opened in 1875, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Pine Plains (1860), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 76 in 18802020 census: 113151 years
Founding year: the first Bluffton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Bluffton’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.Boom and bustPeaked at 325 in 1910; 113 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bluffton’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewDetail of fireplace mantel - Rambo-Bell…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Bluffton, census by census

010020030018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 325

Peaked at 325 in 1910; 113 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Bluffton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bluffton.

Read it all →

The Royal Colony of Georgia was founded by adventurer, general, and philanthropist James Oglethorpe in 1732. In forming the Colony of Georgia, Oglethorpe set Georgia on an unusual path. He strove to make Georgia a safe haven for petty crime offenders. He cultivated a strong relationship with the local native tribes. During the 18th century, under Oglethorpe's leadership, Georgia was one of the few colonies to expressively outlaw slavery. But the governing body, The Georgia Trustees, which were formed by Oglethorpe himself, began to chip away at his progressive agenda. When the prohibition of slavery was abolished in 1750, many of Oglethorpe's followers emigrated to Western territory controlled by the Creek and Cherokee. This territory is formally known as Clay County.

ChaptersThe Georgian RevoltModern Bluffton

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bluffton, 1860 to 1973

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1860Post officeThe Pine Plains post office opens
  3. 1861Post officeThe Pine Plains post office closes
  4. 1875Post officeThe Bluffton post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 325
  7. 1933In the archiveDetail of fireplace mantel - Rambo-Bell-Redding Tenant House, County Road 130, east of In…
  8. 1973On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Bluffton, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s3 items
Detail of fireplace mantel - Rambo-Bell-Redding Tenant House, County Road 130, east of Intersection U.S. 27 and State R…1933Detail of fireplace mantel - Rambo-Bell-Redding Tenan…East front - Rambo-Bell-Redding Tenant House, County Road 130, east of Intersection U.S. 27 and State Route 11933East front - Rambo-Bell-Redding Tenant House, County …East side - Rambo-Ivey Tenant House, East of U.S. 27-State Route 1, North of County Road 1321933East side - Rambo-Ivey Tenant House, East of U.S. 27-…
1940s–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
Date unknown1 to date
Northeast view - Rambo-Bell-Redding Tenant House, County Road 130, east of Intersection U.S. 27 and State Route 1Date?Northeast view - Rambo-Bell-Redding Tenant House, Cou…
Today8 recent
Bluffton limit, US27 SB2014Bluffton limit, US27 SBBluffton Welcome, US27 Northbound2014Bluffton Welcome, US27 NorthboundBluffton Voting Precinct2014Bluffton Voting PrecinctBluffton Post Office2014Bluffton Post OfficeBluffton Park and Water Tower2014Bluffton Park and Water TowerBluffton Cemetery2014Bluffton CemeteryAbandoned school2014Abandoned schoolGAMap-doton-Bluffton2005GAMap-doton-Bluffton
On the map

Bluffton on the map, 1973 to 1981

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

Bluffton on the 1973 USGS mapBluffton on the 1981 USGS map1973Bluffton sheet · 1:24,000

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

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 fireplace mantel - Rambo-Bell-Redding Tenant House, County Road 130, east of Intersection U.S. 27 and State R…
Retake this viewDetail of fireplace mantel - Rambo-Bell-Redding Tenant House, County Road 130, east of Intersection U.S. 27 and State R…, 1933

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Bluffton

Nobody well known was born in Bluffton itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Otis ReddingAmerican singer and songwriter · b. 1941
Larry HolmesAmerican boxer · b. 1949
Fletcher HendersonAmerican pianist, bandleader, arranger and comp… · b. 1897
Martha ReevesAmerican singer · b. 1941
L
Lea HenryOlympic medalist in basketball · b. 1961
Walter WashingtonAmerican politician and former mayor of the Dis… · b. 1915
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Bluffton’s post office has been open since 1875. Another post office, Pine Plains, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Pine Plains
1860–1861
Bluffton
1875–today
18601940today
Gone or out of use
Bluffton High Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Bluffton
Bluffton

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

Questions about Bluffton’s history

What year was Bluffton founded?

The Bluffton post office opened in 1875, 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 (12), Wikipedia, 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.