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C+History
History · Ellaville

Ellaville dates to 1857, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 36% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Ellaville was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Its Register listing is the Schley County Courthouse. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1972 on, and the census since 1880.

1857founded
1on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Ellaville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Ellaville began

When was Ellaville founded?

1857

Ellaville dates its founding to 1857 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 182 in 18802020 census: 1,595169 years

How historic is Ellaville?

C+

More historic than 36% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1859.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Ellaville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ellaville is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ellaville’s overall grade.
Founding era1857, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19406.7% of homes (±5.2) · typical GA town 3.8% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register1 listing, 6.0 per 10,000 residents · typical GA town 10.0 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 36%
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 Ellaville’s 6.0 sits near the middle of its state (47% of Georgia towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.2 points). Two sources give 1857.

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 Ellaville’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ellaville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ellaville’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 viewWill Jones was lynched in Ellaville Geo…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Ellaville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Ellaville.

Read it all →

A town named Pond Town was established in 1812 along the stage coach in the area that is now the location of the Ellaville City Cemetery. The area was then part of the lands belonging to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. In 1821, after the Treaty of Indian Springs the area became part of the state of Georgia. In 1826, it served as temporary county seat for Lee County upon the creation of the then vast county. Pond Town soon became a lively town noted for horse racing and whiskey. In 1831, the area became part of Sumter County.

Ellaville was founded in 1857 as county seat of the newly formed Schley County. It was incorporated as a town in 1859. The community was named after the daughter of a first settler.

ChaptersLynchings

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Ellaville, 1857 to 1994

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1857
    FoundingEllaville is established
  3. 1859Post officeThe Ellaville post office opens
  4. 1870Born hereCharles R. Crisp is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1922In the archiveWill Jones was lynched in Ellaville Georgia by a white mob on Feb 13 1922
  7. 1961Born hereDaniel Minter is born here
  8. 1972On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1994Born hereCaylee Hammack is born here
By decade

Ellaville, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s1 item
Will Jones was lynched in Ellaville Georgia by a white mob on Feb 13 19221922Will Jones was lynched in Ellaville Georgia by a whit…
1930s–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
Today11 recent
Piggly Wiggly2015Piggly WigglyFormer Schley County jail2015Former Schley County jailFarm Bureau, Schley County2015Farm Bureau, Schley CountyEllaville Water Tower2015Ellaville Water TowerEllaville Post Office2015Ellaville Post OfficeEllaville City limit, N Broad St2015Ellaville City limit, N Broad StEllaville City Center, M. E. Ellis Municipal Building2015Ellaville City Center, M. E. Ellis Municipal BuildingEllaville - Schley County Chamber of Commerce2015Ellaville - Schley County Chamber of CommerceConfederate Statue2015Confederate StatueBlue Star Memorial marker2015Blue Star Memorial markerBelware Court, U. S. 19, Ellaville, Georgia, southern hospitality supreme2011Belware Court, U. S. 19, Ellaville, Georgia, southern…
On the map

Ellaville on the map, 1972 to 1981

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

Ellaville on the 1972 USGS mapEllaville on the 1981 USGS map1972Ellaville South 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 Ellaville.

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.

Will Jones was lynched in Ellaville Georgia by a white mob on Feb 13 1922
Retake this viewWill Jones was lynched in Ellaville Georgia by a white mob on Feb 13 1922, 1922

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Ellaville

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Schley County Courthouse
Schley County Courthouse
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Romanesque1
Schley County CourthouseRomanesque

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

People over time

Ellaville, census by census

05001,0001,5002,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,812

Between 182 and 1,812 people in every census since 1880.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Ellaville

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

See all →
Charles R. CrispAmerican politician · b. 1870
C
Caylee HammackAmerican recording artist; country music singer · b. 1994
D
Daniel MinterAmerican artist · b. 1961
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Ellaville’s post office has been open since 1859.

Gone or out of use
Gill Stripairport

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

Questions about Ellaville’s history

What year was Ellaville founded?

In 1857, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Ellaville’s post office opened in 1859, and the census of 1880 counted 182 people here.

How does Ellaville rank for history?

Ellaville is more historic than 36% 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 Ellaville?

One place: the Schley County Courthouse (listed 1980).

How old are the homes in Ellaville?

7% of Ellaville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.2 points), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 1978.

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), 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.