Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Cohutta

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Cohutta

Cohutta’s post office opened in 1882

Most of Cohutta was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. Below: maps from 1919 on and the census since 1890.

1882first post office
0on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Cohutta began

When was Cohutta founded?

1882

The Cohutta post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 268 in 18902020 census: 764144 years
Founding year: the first Cohutta post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Cohutta’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 Cohutta are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19196 editions of the USGS map, 1919 to 1982. Watch Cohutta change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cohutta’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cohutta’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

Cohutta on the map, 1919 to 1982

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

Cohutta on the 1919 USGS mapCohutta on the 1935 USGS mapCohutta on the 1943 USGS mapCohutta on the 1960 USGS mapCohutta on the 1972 USGS mapCohutta on the 1982 USGS map1919Dalton 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 Cohutta.

The story

How Cohutta came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Cohutta.

Read it all →

The town emerged as a stop on the railroad from Cleveland, Tennessee, to Dalton, Georgia, and served as a transportation and commercial center for the surrounding farming areas. According to local lore, the town was originally known as "Shakerag," from the rag would-be passengers would wave to stop trains passing through.

In the 1920s, the town had a bank and a hotel, as well a high school, and was frequented especially in summer by inhabitants of Chattanooga seeking cooler temperatures. The high school burned down in 1952 and was not rebuilt.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Cohutta, 1882 to 1995

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1882Post officeThe Cohutta post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1919On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1963Born hereMarla Maples is born here
  6. 1995Born hereBayli Cruse is born here
By decade

Cohutta, decade by decade

Today7 recent
Cohutta-post-office-ga2017Cohutta-post-office-gaCohutta-park-sign-ga2017Cohutta-park-sign-gaCohutta-Wolfe-Street-ga2017Cohutta-Wolfe-Street-gaCohutta-Town-Hall-ga2017Cohutta-Town-Hall-gaCohutta-RR-tracks-ga2017Cohutta-RR-tracks-gaCohutta-First-Baptist-ga2017Cohutta-First-Baptist-gaGAMap-doton-Cohutta2005GAMap-doton-Cohutta
People over time

Cohutta, census by census

02004006008001900192019401960198020002020764

Grew from 268 people in 1890 to 764 in 2020.

7 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Cohutta

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

See all →
Marla MaplesAmerican actress and TV personality · b. 1963
B
Bayli CruseAmerican softball player · b. 1995
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Cohutta’s post office has been open since 1882.

Gone or out of use
Mount Olivet Methodist Churchchurch

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

Questions about Cohutta’s history

What year was Cohutta founded?

The Cohutta post office opened in 1882, 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 (7), 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.