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B−History
History · Fayetteville

Fayetteville dates to 1822, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 51% of U.S. towns · #108 of 263 in Georgia. What drives it

Most of Fayetteville was built recently: 0.1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1999. 3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 23 buildings. Below: maps from 1965 on and the census since 1880.

1822founded
3on the National Register
0.1%homes built before 1940
16famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Fayetteville began

When was Fayetteville founded?

1822

Fayetteville dates its founding to 1822 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 138 in 18802020 census: 18,957204 years

How historic is Fayetteville?

B−

More historic than 51% 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: 1823.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Fayetteville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fayetteville is more historic than 51% of U.S. towns, #108 of 263 in Georgia. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Fayetteville’s overall grade.
Founding era1822, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19400.1% of homes (±0.2) · typical GA town 3.8% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register3 listings, 25 historic buildings, 12.7 per 10,000 residents · typical GA town 10.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 51%
NewerOlder
Georgia towns of 2,500+ (263)Ahead of 59%

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 Fayetteville’s 12.7 sits near the middle of its state (56% of Georgia towns have fewer) while its 25 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 A−. The pre-1940 share (±0.2 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1822.

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 Fayetteville’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 Fayetteville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Railroad Street Historic District takes in 23 historic buildings.Lost villages7 hamlets and corners are still on the map.Deep rootsEstablished in 1822: 204 years of Fayetteville.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Fayetteville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Fayetteville’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

3 listings protect 25 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
25
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Fayette County Courthouse
Fayette County Courthouse, built 1825Holliday-Dorsey-Fife House, built 1847Railroad Street Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Carpenter1
Second Empire1
Greek Revival1
Fayette County CourthouseCarpenter · Built 1825
Holliday-Dorsey-Fife HouseGreek Revival · Built 1847
All 3 listings
Railroad Street Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2026

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

Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Fayetteville’s post office has been open since 1823.

Hamlets and corners on the map
BrookcliffCottonwoodDeep ForestFenwyckGreenleaMedford ManorSharon Heights
Gone or out of use
Fayetteville AcademyschoolFayetteville Grade SchoolschoolRamah Baptist Churchchurch
1cemetery inside Fayetteville
Fayetteville City

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

The story

How Fayetteville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Fayetteville.

Read it all →

Fayetteville was founded in 1822 as the seat of the newly formed Fayette County, organized by European Americans from territory ceded by force from the Creek people under a treaty with the United States during the early period of Indian removal from the Southeast. Both city and county were named in honor of the Revolutionary War hero the French Marquis de Lafayette. Fayetteville was incorporated as a town in 1823 and as a city in 1902.

The area was developed for cotton plantations, with labor provided by enslaved Black Americans, who for more than a century comprised the majority of the county's population. Fayetteville became the trading town for the agricultural area.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Fayetteville, 1822 to 2003

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1822
    FoundingFayetteville is established
  3. 1823Post officeThe Fayetteville post office opens
  4. 1825BuiltFayette County Courthouse is built
  5. 1847BuiltHolliday-Dorsey-Fife House is built
  6. 1871Born hereHugh M. Dorsey is born here
  7. 20th century
  8. 1965On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1990Born hereChristian Taylor is born here
  10. 21st century
  11. 2001Born hereBrian Branch is born here
  12. 2003Born hereJabari Smith Jr. is born here
By decade

Fayetteville, decade by decade

Today7 recent
Trilith Soundstages2023Trilith SoundstagesTrilith Soundstages (cropped)2023Trilith Soundstages (cropped)Pinewood Atlanta Studios 22016Pinewood Atlanta Studios 2Fayette Chamber of Commerce2015Fayette Chamber of CommerceFayette County GA courthouse2014Fayette County GA courthouseFayette County Courthouse2012Fayette County CourthouseConverted richway2001Converted richway
On the map

Fayetteville on the map, 1965 to 1982

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

Fayetteville on the 1965 USGS mapFayetteville on the 1982 USGS map1965Fayetteville 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 Fayetteville.

People over time

Fayetteville, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,0001880190019201940196019802000202018,957

Grew from 138 people in 1880 to 18,957 in 2020, more than tenfold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

16 famous people were born in Fayetteville

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

See all →
C
Christian TaylorAmerican track and field athlete · b. 1990
Jabari Smith Jr.American basketball player · b. 2003
Hugh M. DorseyAmerican judge · b. 1871
Brian BranchAmerican football player · b. 2001
Sam MartinAmerican football player · b. 1990
Mike HiltonAmerican football cornerback · b. 1994

Questions about Fayetteville’s history

What year was Fayetteville founded?

In 1822, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Fayetteville’s post office opened in 1823, and the census of 1880 counted 138 people here.

How does Fayetteville rank for history?

Fayetteville is more historic than 51% of U.S. towns, #108 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 Fayetteville?

Three places: the Fayette County Courthouse (listed 1980), the Holliday-Dorsey-Fife House (2008) and the Railroad Street Historic District (2026).

How old are the homes in Fayetteville?

0.1% of Fayetteville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 1999.

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 (7), 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) 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.