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B+History
History · Edison

Edison’s post office opened in 1886, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 68% of U.S. towns. What drives it

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 22 buildings. Below: maps from 1973 on and the census since 1910.

1886first post office
1on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Edison began

When was Edison founded?

1886

The Edison post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 841 in 19102020 census: 1,230140 years

How historic is Edison?

B+

More historic than 68% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Edison’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Edison is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Edison’s overall grade.
Founding era1886, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194018.4% of homes (±7.6) · typical GA town 3.8% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register1 listing, 22 historic buildings, 164 per 10,000 residents · typical GA town 10.0 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 68%
NewerOlder

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 Edison’s 164 sits above most of its state (78% of Georgia towns have fewer) while its 22 historic buildings outnumber those of 80% 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 (±7.6 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 Edison’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 Edison are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Edison Commercial Historic District takes in 22 historic buildings.Old housesHalf of Edison’s homes were built before 1963.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Edison’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Edison’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
On the National Register

1 listing protects 22 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
22
each building in a district counts
first listed
2000
Edison Commercial Historic District
Edison Commercial Historic District
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Folk Victorian1
Edison Commercial Historic DistrictFolk Victorian

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

The story

How Edison came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Edison.

Read it all →

The Georgia General Assembly incorporated the place in 1902 as the "Town of Edison". The community was named after Thomas Edison (1847–1931), American inventor.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Edison, 1886 to 2002

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1886Post officeThe Edison post office opens
  3. 1899Born hereCorliss Palmer is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1970Born hereRodney Dent is born here
  6. 1973On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1974Born hereAntonio Fleming is born here
  8. 21st century
  9. 2002Born hereMakayla Timpson is born here
By decade

Edison, decade by decade

Today30 recent
Edison limit, GA216 SB2014Edison limit, GA216 SBEdison Welcome, GA37 WB2014Edison Welcome, GA37 WBEdison United Methodist Church2014Edison United Methodist ChurchEdison Sports Complex2014Edison Sports ComplexEdison Post Office2014Edison Post OfficeEdison Police and Fire Department2014Edison Police and Fire DepartmentEdison Package Store2014Edison Package StoreEdison Medical Center2014Edison Medical CenterEdison Fire Department2014Edison Fire DepartmentEdison City Hall2014Edison City HallEdison City Hall plaque2014Edison City Hall plaqueEdison Baptist Church2014Edison Baptist ChurchEdison Baptist Church corner stone2014Edison Baptist Church corner stoneDowntown Edison, Hartford St 10 Georgia Power2014Downtown Edison, Hartford St 10 Georgia PowerDowntown Edison, Hartford St 09, Margaret Sheppard Museum and Welcome Center2014Downtown Edison, Hartford St 09, Margaret Sheppard Mu…Downtown Edison, Hartford St 08 Edison Theater2014Downtown Edison, Hartford St 08 Edison TheaterDowntown Edison, Hartford St 072014Downtown Edison, Hartford St 07Downtown Edison, Hartford St 062014Downtown Edison, Hartford St 06Downtown Edison, Hartford St 052014Downtown Edison, Hartford St 05Downtown Edison, Hartford St 042014Downtown Edison, Hartford St 04Downtown Edison, Hartford St 03 Lane Drugs2014Downtown Edison, Hartford St 03 Lane DrugsDowntown Edison, Hartford St 022014Downtown Edison, Hartford St 02Downtown Edison, Hartford St 012014Downtown Edison, Hartford St 01Dollar General2014Dollar GeneralCalhoun County Middle School2014Calhoun County Middle SchoolCalhoun County Middle School buses2014Calhoun County Middle School busesCalhoun County High School2014Calhoun County High SchoolCalhoun County Food Storage building2014Calhoun County Food Storage buildingCalhoun County Adult Education Center2014Calhoun County Adult Education CenterBank of2014Bank of
On the map

Edison on the map, 1973 to 1981

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

Edison on the 1973 USGS mapEdison on the 1981 USGS map1973Edison 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 Edison.

People over time

Edison, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,600192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,531

Between 841 and 1,531 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Edison

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

See all →
Corliss PalmerAmerican actress · b. 1899
R
Rodney DentAmerican basketball player · b. 1970
Makayla TimpsonAmerican basketball player · b. 2002
A
Antonio FlemingAmerican football player · b. 1974
B
Bob MikeAmerican football player · b. 1918

Questions about Edison’s history

What year was Edison founded?

The Edison post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Edison rank for history?

Edison is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns. 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 Edison?

One place: the Edison Commercial Historic District (listed 2000).

How old are the homes in Edison?

18% of Edison’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.6 points), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 1963.

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 (30), 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) 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.