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History · Fort Gaines

Fort Gaines dates to 1816, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 327 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1870.

1816founded
4on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Fort Gaines’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Fort Gaines began

When was Fort Gaines founded?

1816

Fort Gaines dates its founding to 1816 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 758 in 18702020 census: 995210 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1825.The full story ↓

What stands out about Fort Gaines’ past

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

A historic districtThe Fort Gaines Historic District takes in 327 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building7 fire insurance maps, 1885 to 1922, drew every building in Fort Gaines.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,357 in 1940; 995 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

4 listings protect 330 historic buildings

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
330
each building in a district counts
first listed
1974
Fort Gaines Cemetery Site
Dill House, built 1830Clay County Courthouse, built 1871Fort Gaines Cemetery SiteFort Gaines Historic District
BuildingsDistrictsSites

Architectural styles listings

Victorian2
Carpenter1
Classical1
Greek Revival1
Gothic Revival1
Victorian Eclectic1
Dill HouseVictorian · Built 1830
Clay County CourthouseCarpenter · Built 1871
All 4 listings
Fort Gaines Cemetery SiteSite · listed 1974Fort Gaines Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1984

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

Help out

Start Fort Gaines’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Fort Gaines’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewThree scenes of military facilities: lo…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Fort Gaines, building by building, 1885–1922

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.

Fort Gaines fire insurance map, 1885, sheet 11885Sheet 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 Fort Gaines came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Fort Gaines.

Read it all →

The present town of Fort Gaines was founded in 1816 as protection against the indigenous Creeks and prospered due to riverboat trade. Though it was named for General Edmund Pendleton Gaines, he did not arrive there with the 4th Infantry of the United States Army until 1816. A fort of the same name had been built in 1814 nearby on the Chattachoochee River. In 1854, Fort Gaines was designated seat of the newly formed Clay County.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Fort Gaines, 1816 to 1966

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1816
    FoundingFort Gaines is established
  3. 1818In the archiveCrest line of Fort Gaines
  4. 1825Post officeThe Fort Gaines post office opens
  5. 1830BuiltDill House is built
  6. 1861In the archiveThree scenes of military facilities: lower battery on the Ogeechee destroyed by the Pembi…
  7. 1862Born hereFrances Sage Bradley is born here
  8. 1871BuiltClay County Courthouse is built
  9. 20th century
  10. 1925Born hereCarrie Smith is born here
  11. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 1,357
  12. 1953On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  13. 1962Born hereMackey Sasser is born here
  14. 1966Born hereBubba McDowell is born here
By decade

Fort Gaines, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1810s to the 1860s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1810s1 item
Crest line of Fort Gaines1818Crest line of Fort GainesDocument
1860s1 item
Three scenes of military facilities: lower battery on the Ogeechee destroyed by the Pembina; Ft. Gaines, Mobile, opp. F…1861Three scenes of military facilities: lower battery on…
Today2 recent
Blue Star Memorial marker, GA372014Blue Star Memorial marker, GA37J.E. Paullin House, Fort Gaines, Georgia. George F. Barber, architect2013J.E. Paullin House, Fort Gaines, Georgia. George F. B…
On the map

Fort Gaines on the map, 1953 to 1981

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

Fort Gaines on the 1953 USGS mapFort Gaines on the 1981 USGS map1953Dothan sheet · 1:250,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Fort Gaines.

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.

Three scenes of military facilities: lower battery on the Ogeechee destroyed by the Pembina; Ft. Gaines, Mobile, opp. F…
Retake this viewThree scenes of military facilities: lower battery on the Ogeechee destroyed by the Pembina; Ft. Gaines, Mobile, opp. F…, 1861

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Fort Gaines, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,40018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,357

Peaked at 1,357 in 1940; 995 people lived here in 2020.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Fort Gaines

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

See all →
Carrie SmithAmerican singer · b. 1925
Bubba McDowellAmerican football player and coach · b. 1966
Frances Sage BradleyPhysician and pioneer of child hygiene · b. 1862
M
Mackey SasserAmerican baseball player · b. 1962
Charles JacksonAmerican football player · b. 1962
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Fort Gaines’s post office has been open since 1825.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Oketeyeconne
Gone or out of use
Fort GainesmilitaryFort Gaines AcademyschoolHenry Clay Bridgebridge
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Fort Gaines
Fort GainesNew ParkRose Hill

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

Questions about Fort Gaines’ history

What year was Fort Gaines founded?

In 1816, according to Wikidata. Fort Gaines’ post office opened in 1825, and the census of 1870 counted 758 people here.

What is on the National Register in Fort Gaines?

4 listings: 2 buildings, 1 historic district, the Fort Gaines Historic District, with 327 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 330 historic buildings in all.

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (3), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.