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B−History
History · Claxton

Claxton’s post office opened in 1890, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 46% of U.S. towns · #121 of 263 in Georgia. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Evans County Courthouse and the Dr. James W. Daniel House. Its Register listings are the Evans County Courthouse and the Dr. James W. Daniel House. Below: maps from 1917 on and the census since 1900.

1890first post office
2on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Claxton began

When was Claxton founded?

1890

The Claxton post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 553 in 19002020 census: 2,602136 years

How historic is Claxton?

B−

More historic than 46% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Claxton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Claxton’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Claxton is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #121 of 263 in Georgia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Claxton’s overall grade.
Founding era1890, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194011.4% of homes (±6.7) · typical GA town 3.8% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register2 listings, 7.9 per 10,000 residents · typical GA town 10.0 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 46%
NewerOlder
Georgia towns of 2,500+ (263)Ahead of 54%

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 Claxton’s 7.9 sits near the middle of its state (50% of Georgia towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.7 points). 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 Claxton’s 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 Claxton are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19194 editions of the USGS map, 1919 to 1976. Watch Claxton change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Claxton’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Claxton’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
On the map

Claxton on the map, 1919 to 1976

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

Claxton on the 1919 USGS mapClaxton on the 1944 USGS mapClaxton on the 1958 USGS mapClaxton on the 1976 USGS map1919Claxton sheet · 1:62,500

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

The story

How Claxton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Claxton.

Read it all →

The town had its visionary, W.R. Hendricks. In May 1890 there were only a couple of dwellings scattered around the area that is Claxton. Hendricks, son of Glenn and Nancy Hendricks, had been given a large tract of land by his parents. The Hendricks's ambition was to secure a railroad station at the site, but they met considerable opposition from railroad company officials who maintained that existing stations in the area were sufficient to meet the needs. W.R. Hendricks made a proposition to railroad officials that a well be dug and pump installed free of charge so that trains could stop for water. The deal was made and actual construction began in the latter part of June 1890. The vision of building a town was fully supported by Hendricks's mother, who offered to give a lot to anyone who would erect a building upon it. A number of people accepted her offer, so she revised the plan and …

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Claxton, 1890 to 1930

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1890Post officeThe Claxton post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1910BuiltDr. James W. Daniel House is built
  5. 1916Born hereAlbert Parker is born here
  6. 1919On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1920Born hereCartha DeLoach is born here
  8. 1920Born hereCurtis G. Hames is born here
  9. 1930Born hereJoe Kennedy is born here
By decade

Claxton, decade by decade

Today14 recent
20240319-USDA-RD-AL-LSC-A1-0088202420240319-USDA-RD-AL-LSC-A1-0088Post Office in2018Post Office inClaxton Fruit Cake Company2018Claxton Fruit Cake CompanyClaxtonCityHall2015ClaxtonCityHallUS301nUS25nGA129nGA73nRoad-US280ewGA30ew-Claxton2013US301nUS25nGA129nGA73nRoad-US280ewGA30ew-ClaxtonEvansMemorialHospital2012EvansMemorialHospitalCourthouseAnnex2012CourthouseAnnexTravelers Court on U. S. 301 & 252011Travelers Court on U. S. 301 & 25Planters tobacco warehouse2011Planters tobacco warehouseModern McCorkle's Motel, on U. S. Route 301 and 252011Modern McCorkle's Motel, on U. S. Route 301 and 25Edwards Tourist Court, Claxton, Ga2011Edwards Tourist Court, Claxton, GaShrinersRattlesnakeRoundup2009ShrinersRattlesnakeRoundupEvansVeteranMemorial2009EvansVeteranMemorialClaxton-tower2005Claxton-tower
Every building

Claxton, building by building, 1917

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 sheet.

Claxton fire insurance map, 1917, sheet 11917Sheet 1 of 3
BrickWoodStone

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

On the National Register

2 historic places in Claxton

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
Evans County Courthouse
Evans County CourthouseDr. James W. Daniel House, built 1910
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Neo-Classical1
Georgian Revival1
Craftsman1
Evans County CourthouseNeo-Classical
Dr. James W. Daniel HouseGeorgian Revival · Built 1910

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

People over time

Claxton, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,694

Between 553 and 2,694 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Claxton

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

See all →
A
Albert ParkerAmerican businessman · b. 1916
Cartha DeLoachFBI executive · b. 1920
J
Joe KennedyAmerican politician · b. 1930
C
Curtis G. HamesAmerican physician · b. 1920
J
Joe OdomAmerican attorney and musician · b. 1948
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Hagan1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Claxton’s history

What year was Claxton founded?

The Claxton post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Claxton rank for history?

Claxton is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #121 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 Claxton?

Two places: the Evans County Courthouse (listed 1980) and the Dr. James W. Daniel House (1983).

How old are the homes in Claxton?

11% of Claxton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.7 points), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 1970.

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 (14), Wikidata (2), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.