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C+History
History · Cumming

Cumming’s post office opened in 1834, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 41% of U.S. towns · #138 of 263 in Georgia. What drives it

Most of Cumming was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1998. Its Register listings are the Cumming Public School-Cumming High School, the Cumming Bandstand and the Cumming Cemetery. Below: maps from 1964 on and the census since 1870.

1834first post office
3on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
10famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Cumming began

When was Cumming founded?

1834

The Cumming post office opened in 1834, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 267 in 18702020 census: 7,318192 years

How historic is Cumming?

C+

More historic than 41% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Cumming’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cumming is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns, #138 of 263 in Georgia. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cumming’s overall grade.
Founding era1834, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19400.0% of homes (±0.7) · typical GA town 3.8% · U.S. 8.4%D−National Register3 listings, 3.5 per 10,000 residents · typical GA town 10.0 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 41%
NewerOlder
Georgia towns of 2,500+ (263)Ahead of 48%

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 Cumming’s 3.5 sits near the middle of its state (41% of Georgia towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% 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 (±0.7 points) is firm at this size. 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 Cumming’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 Cumming are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1890 and 1900, then grew more than tenfold.Deep rootsA post office since 1834: 192 years of Cumming.Famous sons and daughtersKelli Giddish, Skyler Day and 8 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cumming’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cumming’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
People over time

Cumming, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00018801900192019401960198020002020356 in 1890Low: 239

Lost a third of its people between 1890 and 1900, then grew more than tenfold.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Timeline

Cumming, 1834 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1834Post officeThe Cumming post office opens
  3. 1843Born hereOlin Wellborn is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1964On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1980Born hereKelli Giddish is born here
  7. 1991Born hereSkyler Day is born here
  8. 1991Born hereDalton Day is born here
  9. 21st century
  10. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 7,318
The story

How Cumming came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Cumming.

Read it all →

The area now called Cumming is located west of the historic location of Vann's Ferry between Forsyth County and Hall County.

The area, now called Cumming, was inhabited earlier by Cherokee tribes, who are thought to have arrived in the mid-18th century. The Cherokee and Creek people developed disputes over hunting land. After two years of fighting, the Cherokee won the land in the Battle of Taliwa. The Creek people were forced to move south of the Chattahoochee River.

ChaptersEarly historyModern history

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Cumming, decade by decade

Today18 recent
Step2 Kidalert sign2022Step2 Kidalert signSawnee Mountain from Cumming, June 2019 22019Sawnee Mountain from Cumming, June 2019 2Sawnee Mountain from Cumming, June 2019 12019Sawnee Mountain from Cumming, June 2019 1Cumming Baptist Church, June 20192019Cumming Baptist Church, June 2019Browns Bridge Church, Forsyth County, June 20192019Browns Bridge Church, Forsyth County, June 2019Cumming First United Methodist, Jan 20172017Cumming First United Methodist, Jan 2017Sawnee Mountain viewed from2015Sawnee Mountain viewed fromSawnee Mountain2015Sawnee MountainOld Forsyth County Courthouse2015Old Forsyth County CourthouseForsyth County courthouse2015Forsyth County courthouseForsyth County Courthouse2015Forsyth County CourthouseCumming, Georgia City Hall2015Cumming, Georgia City HallCumming City Hall2015Cumming City Hall420th NSC2015420th NSCBandstand in front of Cumming GA Couthouse2012Bandstand in front of Cumming GA CouthousePink IHC Farmall tractor2010Pink IHC Farmall tractorForsyth Central High School Main Entrance2009Forsyth Central High School Main EntranceDave Crittenden University of Alabama Place Kicker2000Dave Crittenden University of Alabama Place Kicker
On the map

Cumming on the map, 1964 to 1992

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

Cumming on the 1964 USGS mapCumming on the 1973 USGS mapCumming on the 1985 USGS mapCumming on the 1992 USGS map1964Cumming 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 Cumming.

On the National Register

3 historic places in Cumming

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
2000
Cumming Public School-Cumming High School
Cumming Public School-Cumming High SchoolCumming BandstandCumming Cemetery
BuildingsSitesStructures

Architectural styles listings

Gothic Revival1
Bandstand1
Cumming Public School-Cumming High SchoolGothic Revival
All 3 listings
Cumming BandstandStructure · listed 2002Cumming CemeterySite · listed 2005

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

Famous people

10 famous people were born in Cumming

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

See all →
Kelli GiddishAmerican actress · b. 1980
Skyler DayAmerican actress and singer · b. 1991
Olin WellbornAmerican politician · b. 1843
D
Dalton DayAmerican actor and singer · b. 1991
Junior SamplesAmerican comedian · b. 1926
E
Ethan HankinsAmerican baseball player · b. 2000
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Cumming’s post office has been open since 1834.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Pirkle Woods
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Cumming
Cumming CitySawnee View Memorial Gardens

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

Questions about Cumming’s history

What year was Cumming founded?

The Cumming post office opened in 1834, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Cumming rank for history?

Cumming is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns, #138 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 Cumming?

Three places: the Cumming Public School-Cumming High School (listed 2000), the Cumming Bandstand (2002) and the Cumming Cemetery (2005).

How old are the homes in Cumming?

0.0% of Cumming’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 1998.

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 (18), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.