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History · Gillsville

Gillsville’s post office opened in 1832, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 25 buildings. Below: maps from 1964 on and the census since 1910.

1832first post office
1on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Gillsville began

When was Gillsville founded?

1832

The Gillsville post office opened in 1832, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 216 in 19102020 census: 306194 years
Founding year: the first Gillsville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Gillsville’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 Gillsville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1920 and 1970, then grew 3-fold.A historic districtThe Gillsville Historic District takes in 25 historic buildings.Deep rootsA post office since 1832: 194 years of Gillsville.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Gillsville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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People over time

Gillsville, census by census

0100200300192019401960198020002020225 in 1920Low: 100

Lost half of its people between 1920 and 1970, then grew 3-fold.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

On the National Register

1 listing protects 25 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
25
each building in a district counts
first listed
1985
Gillsville Historic District
Gillsville Historic District
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
Victorian1
Gillsville Historic DistrictGreek Revival

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

The story so far

Gillsville, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Gillsville yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Gillsville is a city in Banks and Hall counties in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, Gillsville had a population of 306. The Hall County portion of Gillsville is part of the Gainesville, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1832. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 235 to 306 (+30%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Gillsville, 1832 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1832Post officeThe Gillsville post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1964On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 21st century
  6. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 306
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Gillsville on the map, 1964 to 1985

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

Gillsville on the 1964 USGS mapGillsville on the 1985 USGS map1964Gillsville 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 Gillsville.

Famous people

Famous people close to Gillsville

Nobody well known was born in Gillsville itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Margaret Woodrow WilsonActing First Lady of the United States · b. 1886
Doug CollinsAmerican lawyer and politician · b. 1966
Richard Russell Jr.66th Governor of Georgia (1931–1933), U.S. Sena… · b. 1897
D
Deshaun WatsonAmerican football player · b. 1995
Johnny MizeAmerican baseball player and coach · b. 1913
T
Tommy AaronAmerican golfer, PGA Tour member · b. 1937

Questions about Gillsville’s history

What year was Gillsville founded?

The Gillsville post office opened in 1832, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Gillsville?

One place: the Gillsville Historic District (listed 1985).

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 Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.