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B+History
History · Fitzgerald

Fitzgerald’s post office opened in 1895, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 70% of U.S. towns · #62 of 263 in Georgia. What drives it

7 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 204 buildings between them. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1898 on, and the census since 1900.

1895first post office
7on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
13famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Fitzgerald’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Fitzgerald began

When was Fitzgerald founded?

1895

The Fitzgerald post office opened in 1895, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Evergreen (1874) and Swan (1888), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 1,817 in 19002020 census: 9,006131 years

How historic is Fitzgerald?

B+

More historic than 70% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Fitzgerald’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fitzgerald is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns, #62 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 Fitzgerald’s overall grade.
Founding era1895, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194015.3% of homes (±7.0) · typical GA town 3.8% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register7 listings, 213 historic buildings, 239 per 10,000 residents · typical GA town 10.0 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 70%
NewerOlder
Georgia towns of 2,500+ (263)Ahead of 77%

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 Fitzgerald’s 239 sits above most of its state (81% of Georgia towns have fewer) while its 213 historic buildings outnumber those of 94% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±7.0 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 Fitzgerald’s past

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

A historic districtThe South Main-South Lee Streets Historic District takes in 127 historic buildings.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1898 to 1921, drew every building in Fitzgerald.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Fitzgerald.Landmarks on the Register7 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

7 listings protect 213 historic buildings

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

places listed
7
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
213
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Ben Hill County Courthouse
Ben Hill County CourthouseBen Hill County JailHoltzendorf Apartments, built 1909South Main-South Lee Streets Historic DistrictFitzgerald Commercial Historic DistrictDorminy-Massee HouseMiles V. Wilsey House
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Classical Revival3
Romanesque2
Bungalow/Craftsman2
Colonial Revival2
Neo-Classical1
Queen Anne1
Ben Hill County CourthouseNeo-Classical
Ben Hill County JailRomanesque
Holtzendorf ApartmentsBungalow/Craftsman · Built 1909
South Main-South Lee Streets Historic DistrictQueen Anne
Fitzgerald Commercial Historic DistrictRomanesque
Dorminy-Massee HouseClassical Revival
Miles V. Wilsey HouseBuilding

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

Every building

Fitzgerald, building by building, 1898–1921

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.

Fitzgerald fire insurance map, 1898, sheet 11898Sheet 1 of 4
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Fitzgerald’s post office has been open since 1895. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Evergreen
1874–1907
Swan
1888–1895
Fitzgerald
1895–today
18701950today
Gone or out of use
Fitzgerald High SchoolschoolMonitor Elementary SchoolschoolRoanoke SchoolschoolSaint Williams Catholic ChurchchurchSecond Ward SchoolschoolThird Ward SchoolschoolUnion Holiness Churchchurch
1cemetery inside Fitzgerald
Evergreen

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

The story

How Fitzgerald came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Fitzgerald.

Read it all →

Fitzgerald was developed in 1895 by Philander H. Fitzgerald, a newspaper editor from Indianapolis, Indiana. A former drummer boy in the Union Army during the Civil War, he founded it as a community for war veterans–both from the Union and from the Confederacy. The majority of the first citizens (some 2700) were Union veterans. It was incorporated on December 2, 1896. The town is located less than 15 miles (24 km) from the site where Confederate president Jefferson Davis was captured on May 10, 1865.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Fitzgerald, 1874 to 1973

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1874Post officeThe Evergreen post office opens
  3. 1888Post officeThe Swan post office opens
  4. 1895Post officeThe Swan post office closes
  5. 1895Post officeThe Fitzgerald post office opens
  6. 1897In the archive900 bales, $16,000.00
  7. 20th century
  8. 1907Post officeThe Evergreen post office closes
  9. 1908In the archiveBird's eye view of Fitzgerald, Georgia 1908
  10. 1909BuiltHoltzendorf Apartments is built
  11. 1914Born hereForrest Towns is born here
  12. 1918Born hereMorris Berthold Abram is born here
  13. 1933In the archiveExtemporaneous remarks of the President in
  14. 1940Born hereFrances Mayes is born here
  15. 1946Born hereCharlie Paulk is born here
  16. 1973On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Fitzgerald, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s–1930s5 items
900 bales, $16,000.001897900 bales, $16,000.00Bird's eye view of Fitzgerald, Georgia 19081908Bird's eye view of Fitzgerald, Georgia 1908Bird's eye view of Fitzgerald, Georgia 19081908Bird's eye view of Fitzgerald, Georgia 1908Extemporaneous remarks of the President in1933Extemporaneous remarks of the President inHanging around railroad tracks in center of town of Fitzgerald, Georgia1939Hanging around railroad tracks in center of town of F…
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
Today12 recent
Looking north up GA90 from SE corner of intersection with W Sultana Dr2017Looking north up GA90 from SE corner of intersection …Looking east down Central Ave from SW corner of intersection with Grant St2017Looking east down Central Ave from SW corner of inter…Looking east down Central Ave from SE corner of intersection with Main St2017Looking east down Central Ave from SE corner of inter…Jefferson Davis Highway Marker2017Jefferson Davis Highway MarkerJames F. Paulk Park bench and sundial2017James F. Paulk Park bench and sundialFitzgerald city limit, GA90SB2017Fitzgerald city limit, GA90SBFitzgerald Water Tower, N Johnson Street and Oconee Avenue2017Fitzgerald Water Tower, N Johnson Street and Oconee A…Fitzgerald High School Football Field, visitor stands2017Fitzgerald High School Football Field, visitor standsFitzgerald City limit, Perry House Rd NB2017Fitzgerald City limit, Perry House Rd NBManabago2011ManabagoGAMap-doton-Fitzgerald2005GAMap-doton-FitzgeraldCompton Park2001Compton Park
On the map

Fitzgerald on the map, 1973 to 1987

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

Fitzgerald on the 1973 USGS mapFitzgerald on the 1987 USGS map1973Fitzgerald West 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 Fitzgerald.

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.

900 bales, $16,000.00
Retake this view900 bales, $16,000.00, 1897

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Fitzgerald, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 10,187

Between 1,817 and 10,187 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

13 famous people were born in Fitzgerald

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

See all →
Forrest TownsAmerican hurdler · b. 1914
Morris Berthold AbramAmerican civil rights lawyer · b. 1918
C
Charlie PaulkAmerican basketball player · b. 1946
F
Frances MayesAmerican university professor and writer · b. 1940
Wayne DowdyAmerican politician · b. 1943
Ray DavisUnited States Marine Corps Medal of Honor recip… · b. 1915
Help out

Finish Fitzgerald’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view900 bales, $16,000.00: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Fitzgerald’s history

What year was Fitzgerald founded?

The Fitzgerald post office opened in 1895, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Fitzgerald rank for history?

Fitzgerald is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns, #62 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 Fitzgerald?

7 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Ben Hill County Courthouse (listed 1980, the first), and 2 historic districts, the South Main-South Lee Streets Historic District and the Fitzgerald Commercial Historic District, with 204 contributing buildings. 213 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Fitzgerald?

15% of Fitzgerald’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.0 points), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 1971.

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 (15), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (7), 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.