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A−History
History · Dawson

Dawson dates to 1856, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 80% of U.S. towns · #33 of 263 in Georgia. What drives it

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 504 buildings. Below: maps from 1885 on and the census since 1860.

1856founded
2on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
8famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Dawson began

When was Dawson founded?

1856

Dawson dates its founding to 1856 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1860.

First census: 521 in 18602020 census: 4,414170 years

How historic is Dawson?

A−

More historic than 80% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1856.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Dawson’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dawson is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #33 of 263 in Georgia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Dawson’s overall grade.
Founding era1856, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194021.2% of homes (±6.7) · typical GA town 3.8% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register2 listings, 505 historic buildings, 1,189 per 10,000 residents · typical GA town 10.0 · U.S. 2.4A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 80%
NewerOlder
Georgia towns of 2,500+ (263)Ahead of 88%

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 Dawson’s 1,189 sits above most of its state (96% of Georgia towns have fewer) while its 505 historic buildings outnumber those of 97% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.7 points). Two sources give 1856.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Dawson’s past

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

A historic districtThe Dawson Historict District takes in 504 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Dawson are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building8 fire insurance maps, 1885 to 1930, drew every building in Dawson.Famous sons and daughtersOtis Redding, Walter Washington and 6 more were born here.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

2 listings protect 505 historic buildings

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
505
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Terrell County Courthouse
Terrell County Courthouse, built 1892Dawson Historict District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

High Victorian1
Italianate1
Queen Anne1
Romanesque1
Colonial Revival1
Classical Revival1
Terrell County CourthouseHigh Victorian · Built 1892
Dawson Historict DistrictItalianate

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

Help out

Start Dawson’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Dawson’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
Every building

Dawson, building by building, 1885–1930

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 year, then a sheet.

Dawson fire insurance map, 1885, sheet 11885Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

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

The story

How Dawson came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Dawson.

Read it all →

Dawson was founded in 1856 as seat of the newly formed Terrell County. It was incorporated as a town in 1857 and as a city in 1872. Terrell was an important site in the 1960s, when the county in which it is located was labeled "Terrible Terrell" by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Jackie Robinson helped raise money to rebuild three black churches that were burned in the area.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Dawson, 1856 to 1973

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1856
    FoundingDawson is established
  3. 1856Post officeThe Terrell Court House post office opens
  4. 1857Post officeThe Terrell Court House post office closes
  5. 1857Post officeThe Dawson post office opens
  6. 1891Born hereStephen Pace is born here
  7. 1892BuiltTerrell County Courthouse is built
  8. 20th century
  9. 1903Born hereBenjamin J. Davis Jr. is born here
  10. 1915Born hereWalter Washington is born here
  11. 1941Born hereOtis Redding is born here
  12. 1973On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Dawson, decade by decade

Today12 recent
GA32 begin2019GA32 beginFormer Pizza Hut2019Former Pizza HutDawson city limit, E Lee St WB2019Dawson city limit, E Lee St WBDairy Queen2019Dairy QueenCooper-Carver Elementary School2019Cooper-Carver Elementary SchoolChicakasawhatchee Primitive Baptist Church2019Chicakasawhatchee Primitive Baptist ChurchChicakasawhatchee Primitive Baptist Church historical marker2019Chicakasawhatchee Primitive Baptist Church historical…Chicakasawhatchee Primitive Baptist Church cemetery2019Chicakasawhatchee Primitive Baptist Church cemeteryCedar Hill Cemetery2019Cedar Hill CemeteryBadcock & More Home Furniture2019Badcock & More Home FurnitureHouse at 311 6th Avenue in2012House at 311 6th Avenue inGAMap-doton-Dawson2005GAMap-doton-Dawson
On the map

Dawson on the map, 1973 to 1981

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

Dawson on the 1973 USGS mapDawson on the 1981 USGS map1973Dawson 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 Dawson.

People over time

Dawson, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,000190019502000Peak: 5,699

Between 521 and 5,699 people in every census since 1860.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

Famous people

8 famous people were born in Dawson

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

See all →
Otis ReddingAmerican singer and songwriter · b. 1941
Walter WashingtonAmerican politician and former mayor of the Dis… · b. 1915
Benjamin J. Davis Jr.American lawyer and politician, New York city c… · b. 1903
Stephen PaceAmerican politician · b. 1891
Lucius D. BattleAmerican diplomat · b. 1918
W
Wayland FlowersAmerican puppeteer · b. 1939
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Dawson’s post office has been open since 1857. Another post office, Terrell Court House, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Terrell Court House
1856–1857
Dawson
1857–today
18501940today
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Dawson
Cedar HillSardis

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

Questions about Dawson’s history

What year was Dawson founded?

In 1856, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Dawson’s post office opened in 1856, and the census of 1860 counted 521 people here.

How does Dawson rank for history?

Dawson is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #33 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 Dawson?

Two places: the Terrell County Courthouse (listed 1980) and the Dawson Historict District (1997).

How old are the homes in Dawson?

21% of Dawson’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 1974.

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), Wikidata (1), 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.