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B+History
History · College Park

College Park’s post office opened in 1896, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 70% of U.S. towns · #63 of 263 in Georgia. What drives it

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 842 buildings. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1911 on, and the census since 1900.

1896first post office
1on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
23famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From College Park’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How College Park began

When was College Park founded?

1896

The College Park post office opened in 1896, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Manchester (1893) and Collegepark (1896), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 517 in 19002020 census: 13,930130 years

How historic is College Park?

B+

More historic than 70% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives College Park’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, College Park is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns, #63 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 College Park’s overall grade.
Founding era1896, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194012.3% of homes (±4.0) · typical GA town 3.8% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register1 listing, 842 historic buildings, 572 per 10,000 residents · typical GA town 10.0 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 70%
NewerOlder
Georgia towns of 2,500+ (263)Ahead of 76%

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 College Park’s 572 sits above most of its state (91% of Georgia towns have fewer) while its 842 historic buildings outnumber those of 98% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.0 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 College Park’s past

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

A historic districtThe College Park Historic District takes in 842 historic buildings.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s College Park, and 7 old place names are still on the map.Boom and bustPeaked at 24,632 in 1980; 13,930 people lived here in 2020.A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers, 1910–1933.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

1 listing protects 842 historic buildings

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
842
each building in a district counts
first listed
1996
College Park Historic District
College Park Historic District
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Late Victorian1
Queen Anne1
Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals1
Colonial Revival1
Classical Revival1
Tudor Revival1
All 1 listings
College Park Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1996

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Manchester
1893–1896
Collegepark
1896–1968
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Brandy ChaseCooks CrossingElmwoodJamestown CourtLakeview HeightsLimetreePleasant Valley
Gone or out of use
Georgia Military Academyschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside College Park
College ParkCollege Park View

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

People over time

College Park, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 24,632

Peaked at 24,632 in 1980; 13,930 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

The story

How College Park came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of College Park.

Read it all →

The community that became College Park was founded as Atlantic City in 1890 as a depot on the Atlanta and West Point Railroad. The town was renamed Manchester when it was incorporated as a city in 1891. It was renamed again as the city of College Park in 1896. The city's name came from being the home of Cox College (where the city hall and other buildings now stand) and Georgia Military Academy (now the Woodward Academy). The east–west avenues in College Park are named for Ivy League colleges, and the north–south streets are named for influential College Park residents.

Chapters19th century20th centuryEarly 21st century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

College Park, 1893 to 1988

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1893Post officeThe Manchester post office opens
  3. 1896Post officeThe Manchester post office closes
  4. 1896Post officeThe Collegepark post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1910In the archiveCollege Park Aviation School from Aeroplane (6)
  7. 1933In the archiveDetail of fanlight on side of storefront - Sarah's Antiques, 3806-3808 East Main Street
  8. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1968Post officeThe Collegepark post office closes
  10. 1977Born here2 Chainz is born here
  11. 1980Born hereMonica is born here
  12. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 24,632
  13. 1985Born hereJosh Smith is born here
  14. 1988Born hereGani Lawal is born here
By decade

College Park, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s–1930s12 items
College Park Aviation School from Aeroplane (6)1910College Park Aviation School from Aeroplane (6)Mr. F. F. Merriam's station in College Park, GA from the April 1916 QST1916Mr. F. F. Merriam's station in College Park, GA from …Detail of fanlight on side of storefront - Sarah's Antiques, 3806-3808 East Main Street1933Detail of fanlight on side of storefront - Sarah's An…Detail of fireplace - Sarah's Antiques, 3806-3808 East Main Street1933Detail of fireplace - Sarah's Antiques, 3806-3808 Eas…Detail of vent on rear exterior of building - Sarah's Antiques, 3806-3808 East Main Street1933Detail of vent on rear exterior of building - Sarah's…Detail, interior window in rear wall, upstairs - Old College Park City Hall, 3814 East Main Street1933Detail, interior window in rear wall, upstairs - Old …Front elevation from west (includes HABS GA 2176-2180 - Sarah's Antiques, 3806-3808 East Main Street1933Front elevation from west (includes HABS GA 2176-2180…Front elevation from west - Sarah's Antiques, 3806-3808 East Main Street1933Front elevation from west - Sarah's Antiques, 3806-38…Front elevation looking east - 3810 East Main Street (Commercial Building)1933Front elevation looking east - 3810 East Main Street …Front elevation, looking east - 3816 East Main Street (Commercial Building)1933Front elevation, looking east - 3816 East Main Street…Front elevation, looking east - Old College Park City Hall, 3814 East Main Street1933Front elevation, looking east - Old College Park City…Front elevation, view east - 3818 East Main Street (Commercial Building)1933Front elevation, view east - 3818 East Main Street (C…
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
On the map

College Park on the map, 1954 to 1993

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

College Park on the 1954 USGS mapCollege Park on the 1968 USGS mapCollege Park on the 1973 USGS mapCollege Park on the 1983 USGS mapCollege Park on the 1993 USGS map1954East Point 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 College Park.

Every building

College Park, building by building, 1911

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.

College Park fire insurance map, 1911, sheet 11911Sheet 1 of 4
BrickWoodStone

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

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.

College Park Aviation School from Aeroplane (6)
Retake this viewCollege Park Aviation School from Aeroplane (6), 1910

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

23 famous people were born in College Park

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

See all →
2 ChainzAmerican rapper · b. 1977
MonicaAmerican singer and rapper · b. 1980
Josh SmithAmerican basketball player · b. 1985
Gani LawalNigerian-American basketball player · b. 1988
OG MacoAmerican rapper · b. 1992
Fletcher ThompsonAmerican politician · b. 1925
Help out

Finish College Park’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewCollege Park Aviation School from Aerop…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

South FultonIts storyD−East Point3 historic placesB−Union CityIts storyD−

Questions about College Park’s history

What year was College Park founded?

The College Park post office opened in 1896, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does College Park rank for history?

College Park is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns, #63 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 College Park?

One place: the College Park Historic District (listed 1996).

How old are the homes in College Park?

12% of College Park’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.0 points), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 1972.

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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.