Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 22% of U.S. towns · #192 of 263 in Georgia. What drives it
Most of Clarkston was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: maps from 1956 on and the census since 1880.
The Clarkston post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 22% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Clarkston is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #192 of 263 in Georgia. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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 Clarkston’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.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Clarkston’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Clarkston.
A post office called Clarkston has been in operation since 1876. The Georgia General Assembly incorporated the place in 1882 as the "Town of Clarkston", with municipal corporate limits extending in a one-half mile radius from the Georgia Railroad depot. The community was named after W. W. Clark, a railroad official.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereWilliam J. Livsey is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
Born hereSung Kang is born here
2026East Ponce de Leon Avenue
2026Clarkston Womans Club
2026Clarkston United Methodist Church
2026Clarkston Market
2020Georgia I285nb Exit 39B
2020Georgia I285nb Exit 39B exit only
2020Georgia I285nb Clarkston city limit
2016James R. Hallford Stadium
2016Clarkston, Georgia stores, May 2016
2016Clarkston, Georgia downtown, 2016
2016Clarkston, Georgia churches, 2016
2016Clarkston High School (Georgia)
2016Clarkston City Annex, 2016
2016Atlanta Area School for the Deaf
2013Milam Park Pool at Dusk
2013Clarkston, Georgia
2013Clarkston Georgia City Hall annex
2013Clarkston Georgia 2013 02
2005GAMap-doton-ClarkstonEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Clarkston. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Clarkston.
Grew from 33 people in 1880 to 14,756 in 2020, more than tenfold.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Clarkston’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Clarkston post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Clarkston is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #192 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.
7% of Clarkston’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.8 points), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 1979.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (19), 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.
