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A−History
History · Eatonton

Eatonton dates to 1809, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 81% of U.S. towns · #32 of 263 in Georgia. What drives it

3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 60 buildings. Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1840.

1809founded
3on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
11old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Eatonton’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Eatonton began, and where its name came from

When was Eatonton founded?

1809

Eatonton dates its founding to 1809 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1840.

First census: 516 in 18402020 census: 6,307217 years

How did Eatonton get its name?

Eatonton was named after William Eaton, an officer and diplomat involved in the First Barbary War.

More on the name

The name consists of his surname with the English suffix "ton", meaning "town".

How historic is Eatonton?

A−

More historic than 81% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1816. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Eatonton’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Eatonton is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #32 of 263 in Georgia. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Eatonton’s overall grade.
Founding era1809, from Wikipedia: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194012.7% of homes (±6.0) · typical GA town 3.8% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register3 listings, 62 historic buildings, 95.2 per 10,000 residents · typical GA town 10.0 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 81%
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 Eatonton’s 95.2 sits above most of its state (70% of Georgia towns have fewer) while its 62 historic buildings outnumber those of 86% 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 (±6.0 points). Two sources give 1809.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Eatonton’s past

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

Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1860 and 1870, then grew 5-fold.A historic districtThe Eatonton Historic District takes in 60 historic buildings.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1884 to 1921, drew every building in Eatonton.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Eatonton, and 3 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · People over time

Eatonton, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,5007,0007,50018501900195020002,009 in 1860Low: 1,240

Lost a third of its people between 1860 and 1870, then grew 5-fold.

18 censuses, 1840–2020.

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

On the National Register

3 listings protect 62 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
62
each building in a district counts
first listed
1975
Eatonton Historic District
Eatonton Historic DistrictStrong-Davis-Rice-George House
BuildingsDistrictsSites

Architectural styles listings

Classical1
Victorian1
Greek Revival1
Queen Anne1
I-House1
Eatonton Historic DistrictClassical
Rock Eagle SiteSite
All 3 listings
Strong-Davis-Rice-George HouseBuilding · listed 2006

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

Every building

Eatonton, building by building, 1884–1921

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.

Eatonton fire insurance map, 1884, sheet 11884Sheet 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 Eatonton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Eatonton.

Read it all →

The first historically recognized society in Eatonton was a Creek Indian town, Cusseta, in 1790. During, this period, the chief of the Cusseta was Birdtail. In 1790, he signed the Treaty of New York on behalf of his people. The treaty aimed to establish peace and foster friendly relations between the Creek Nation and the United States.

Following the American Revolutionary War, Eatonton was founded in 1807 as the seat of newly formed Putnam County. After the war, settlers were moving west and settling in the upland Piedmont region to develop cotton plantations. Eatonton was incorporated as a town in 1809 and as a city in 1879.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Eatonton, 1809 to 2000

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1809
    FoundingEatonton is established
  3. 1816Post officeThe Fairfield post office opens
  4. 1822Post officeThe Eatonton post office opens
  5. 1853Post officeThe Fairfield post office closes
  6. 20th century
  7. 1933In the archiveGENERAL VIEW - Paschal-Sammons House, Maple Avenue
  8. 1972On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 21st century
  10. 2000CensusPopulation peaks at 6,764
By decade

Eatonton, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s11 items
GENERAL VIEW - Paschal-Sammons House, Maple Avenue1933GENERAL VIEW - Paschal-Sammons House, Maple AvenueGENERAL VIEW - Rock Eagle Mound, Rock Eagle State Park, U.S. Route 4411933GENERAL VIEW - Rock Eagle Mound, Rock Eagle State Par…Resettlement project near Eatonton, Georgia1936Resettlement project near Eatonton, GeorgiaCovered bridge near Eatonton, Georgia1936Covered bridge near Eatonton, GeorgiaResettlement homestead near Eatonton, Georgia. Briar Patch Project1936Resettlement homestead near Eatonton, Georgia. Briar …Carpenter at work1936Carpenter at workCarpenter at work1936Carpenter at workResettlement project near Eatonton, Georgia. Briar Patch project1936Resettlement project near Eatonton, Georgia. Briar Pa…Resettlement-constructed homestead near Eatonton, Georgia. Briar Patch Project1936Resettlement-constructed homestead near Eatonton, Geo…Piedmont Homesteads, a FSA (Farm Security Administration) project near Eatonton, Georgia1936Piedmont Homesteads, a FSA (Farm Security Administrat…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Carpenter at work1936Untitled photo, possibly related to: Carpenter at work
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

Eatonton on the map, 1972 to 1985

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

Eatonton on the 1972 USGS mapEatonton on the 1985 USGS map1972Eatonton 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 Eatonton.

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.

GENERAL VIEW - Paschal-Sammons House, Maple Avenue
Retake this viewGENERAL VIEW - Paschal-Sammons House, Maple Avenue, 1933

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

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

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

Eatonton’s post office has been open since 1822. Another post office, Fairfield, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Fairfield
1816–1853
Eatonton
1822–today
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
HuntsImperialWarfield
Gone or out of use
Lees ChapelchurchPutnam County Correctional Institutionbuilding
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Eatonton
Crestlawn Memorial GardensPine Grove

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

Help out

Finish Eatonton’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewGENERAL VIEW - Paschal-Sammons House, M…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Eatonton’s history

What year was Eatonton founded?

In 1809, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Eatonton’s post office opened in 1816, and the census of 1840 counted 516 people here.

How does Eatonton rank for history?

Eatonton is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #32 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 Eatonton?

Three places: the Eatonton Historic District (listed 1975), the Rock Eagle Site (1978) and the Strong-Davis-Rice-George House (2006).

How old are the homes in Eatonton?

13% of Eatonton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.0 points), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 1975.

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 (2), the Library of Congress (9), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, 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.