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B−History
History · East Point

East Point’s post office opened in 1851, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 49% of U.S. towns · #111 of 263 in Georgia. What drives it

Most of East Point was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1969. 3 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 27 buildings between them. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1911 on, and the census since 1880.

1851first post office
3on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
14famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From East Point’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How East Point began

When was East Point founded?

1851

The East Point post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1870.

First census: 195 in 18802020 census: 38,358175 years

How historic is East Point?

B−

More historic than 49% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first East Point post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1870.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives East Point’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, East Point is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #111 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 East Point’s overall grade.
Founding era1851, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19409.6% of homes (±2.2) · typical GA town 3.8% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register3 listings, 28 historic buildings, 7.3 per 10,000 residents · typical GA town 10.0 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 49%
NewerOlder
Georgia towns of 2,500+ (263)Ahead of 58%

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 East Point’s 7.3 sits near the middle of its state (48% of Georgia towns have fewer) while its 28 historic buildings outnumber those of 81% 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 (±2.2 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1870 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

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 East Point’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Washington Carver Homes takes in 20 historic buildings.Lost villages7 hamlets and corners are still on the map.Famous sons and daughtersJamison Brewer, Scott Russell and 12 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start East Point’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how East Point’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewGeorgia [Effingham County (part) - Newt…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

3 listings protect 28 historic buildings

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
28
each building in a district counts
first listed
1985
East Point Industrial District
East Point Industrial DistrictSperry & Hutchinson Company WarehouseWashington Carver Homes
BuildingsDistricts
East Point Industrial DistrictDistrict
All 3 listings
Sperry & Hutchinson Company WarehouseBuilding · listed 2021Washington Carver HomesDistrict · listed 2023

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 and burying grounds

East Point had its own post office from 1851 to 1968.

East Point
1851–1968
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Castilian HeightsCheneyEagan ParkGolden AcresKnottRed Wing CoveSun Valley
1cemetery inside East Point
Hillcrest

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

The story

How East Point came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of East Point.

Read it all →

The name "East Point" derives from the fact that this is the terminus of the Atlanta & West Point Railroad in the east; West Point, Georgia, is the terminus where the rail line ends in the west.

This settlement was founded as a railroad terminus with 16 families in 1870, but grew quickly after it became an inviting place for industry to develop. Soon it boasted the railway, two gristmills, and a government distillery located on Connally Drive. One of the earliest buildings was the factory of the White Hickory Manufacturing Company, built by B.M. Blount and L.M. Hill (who became the first chairman of the board of aldermen of the city).

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

East Point, 1851 to 1991

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1851Post officeThe East Point post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1940In the archiveGeorgia [Effingham County (part) - Newton County (part)
  5. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1964Born hereScott Russell is born here
  7. 1967Born hereAlonso Duralde is born here
  8. 1968Post officeThe East Point post office closes
  9. 1980Born hereJamison Brewer is born here
  10. 1991Born hereJ. J. Mann is born here
By decade

East Point, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s2 items
Georgia [Effingham County (part) - Newton County (part)1940Georgia [Effingham County (part) - Newton County (par…Georgia [Effingham County (part) - Newton County (part)1940Georgia [Effingham County (part) - Newton County (par…
1950s–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
Today22 recent
City Hall2026City HallCity Hall2026City HallJefferson Davis High Monument2020Jefferson Davis High MonumentAtlanta after Takeoff - US29 and Rail2019Atlanta after Takeoff - US29 and RailMARTA in Downtown2017MARTA in DowntownDowntown2017DowntownClocktower in Downtown2017Clocktower in DowntownEast Point Water Tower2016East Point Water TowerWilliam A. Russell High School historical marker2015William A. Russell High School historical markerTri-Cities High School2015Tri-Cities High SchoolFirst Baptist Church - panoramio (5)2015First Baptist Church - panoramio (5)East Point, Georgia City Hall2015East Point, Georgia City HallEast Point shops2015East Point shopsEast Point Street2015East Point StreetEast Point Street2015East Point StreetShopping Center seen at flight in Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport2014Shopping Center seen at flight in Hartsfield-Jackson …I-285 Aerial Facing North - Exit 2 - GA6 Camp Creek Parkway2014I-285 Aerial Facing North - Exit 2 - GA6 Camp Creek P…East Point pedestrian bridge2014East Point pedestrian bridgeEast Point Main street shops2014East Point Main street shopsEast Point, Georgia Main Street2013East Point, Georgia Main StreetMetro atlanta2011Metro atlantaCowart Lake2005Cowart Lake
On the map

East Point on the map, 1954 to 1993

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

East Point on the 1954 USGS mapEast Point on the 1968 USGS mapEast Point on the 1973 USGS mapEast Point on the 1983 USGS mapEast Point 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 East Point.

Every building

East Point, 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.

East Point fire insurance map, 1911, sheet 11911Sheet 1 of 10
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.

Georgia [Effingham County (part) - Newton County (part)
Retake this viewGeorgia [Effingham County (part) - Newton County (part), 1940

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

East Point, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 39,595

Between 195 and 39,595 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

14 famous people were born in East Point

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

See all →
J
Jamison BrewerAmerican basketball player · b. 1980
Scott RussellAmerican motorcycle racer · b. 1964
J. J. MannAmerican basketball player · b. 1991
Alonso DuraldeAmerican film critic · b. 1967
Jason RogersAmerican baseball player · b. 1988
Steven ThomasAmerican lawyer and racing driver · b. 1967
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

South FultonIts storyD−College Park1 historic placeB+Atlanta231 historic placesAHapeville2 historic placesB

Questions about East Point’s history

What year was East Point founded?

The East Point post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1870.

How does East Point rank for history?

East Point is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #111 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 East Point?

Three places: the East Point Industrial District (listed 1985), the Sperry & Hutchinson Company Warehouse (2021) and the Washington Carver Homes (2023).

How old are the homes in East Point?

10% of East Point’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 1969.

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 (24), 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), 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.