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C+History
History · Glennville

Glennville’s post office opened in 1889, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 41% of U.S. towns · #137 of 263 in Georgia. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Glennwanis Hotel. Below: maps from 1920 on and the census since 1900.

1889first post office
1on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Glennville began

When was Glennville founded?

1889

The Glennville post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 269 in 19002020 census: 3,834137 years

How historic is Glennville?

C+

More historic than 41% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Glennville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Glennville is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns, #137 of 263 in Georgia. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Glennville’s overall grade.
Founding era1889, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194011.4% of homes (±6.3) · typical GA town 3.8% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register1 listing, 1.9 per 10,000 residents · typical GA town 10.0 · U.S. 2.4C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 41%
NewerOlder
Georgia towns of 2,500+ (263)Ahead of 48%

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 Glennville’s 1.9 sits near the middle of its state (38% 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 B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.3 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 Glennville’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 Glennville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19204 editions of the USGS map, 1920 to 1973. Watch Glennville change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Glennville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Glennville’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 map

Glennville on the map, 1920 to 1973

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

Glennville on the 1920 USGS mapGlennville on the 1944 USGS mapGlennville on the 1958 USGS mapGlennville on the 1973 USGS map1920Glennville sheet · 1:62,500

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

The story so far

Glennville, in brief

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

Glennville is a city in southeastern Tattnall County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town had a population of 3,834.

Its first post office opened in 1889. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 3,569 to 3,834 (+7%).

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

Timeline

Glennville, 1889 to 1983

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1889Post officeThe Glennville post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1920On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1924Born hereBeach Dickerson is born here
  6. 1932Born hereThurman Anderson is born here
  7. 1944Born hereJimmy Jordan is born here
  8. 1983Born hereCole Swindell is born here
By decade

Glennville, decade by decade

Today20 recent
US Highway 301 sign in2020US Highway 301 sign inWorkers processing Vidallai Onions at Bland Farms in Glennville, Georgia, June 20, 2017 (20170620-OSEC-PJK-1888)2017Workers processing Vidallai Onions at Bland Farms in …Workers processing Vidallai Onions at Bland Farms in Glennville, Georgia, June 20, 2017 (20170620-OSEC-PJK-1775)2017Workers processing Vidallai Onions at Bland Farms in …Workers processing Vidallai Onions at Bland Farms in Glennville, Georgia, June 20, 2017 (20170620-OSEC-PJK-1759)2017Workers processing Vidallai Onions at Bland Farms in …Workers processing Vidallai Onions at Bland Farms in Glennville, Georgia, June 20, 2017 (20170620-OSEC-PJK-1728)2017Workers processing Vidallai Onions at Bland Farms in …Workers processing Vidallai Onions at Bland Farms in Glennville, Georgia, June 20, 2017 (20170620-OSEC-PJK-1709)2017Workers processing Vidallai Onions at Bland Farms in …Workers processing Vidallai Onions at Bland Farms in Glennville, Georgia, June 20, 2017 (20170620-OSEC-PJK-1701)2017Workers processing Vidallai Onions at Bland Farms in …Workers processing Vidallai Onions at Bland Farms in Glennville, Georgia, June 20, 2017 (20170620-OSEC-PJK-1596)2017Workers processing Vidallai Onions at Bland Farms in …Harvest (20170620-OSEC-PJK-1671)2017Harvest (20170620-OSEC-PJK-1671)Harvest (20170620-OSEC-PJK-1650)2017Harvest (20170620-OSEC-PJK-1650)Harvest (20170620-OSEC-PJK-1475)2017Harvest (20170620-OSEC-PJK-1475)Fruits and Vegetables (20170620-OSEC-PJK-1691)2017Fruits and Vegetables (20170620-OSEC-PJK-1691)Fruits and Vegetables (20170620-OSEC-PJK-1536)2017Fruits and Vegetables (20170620-OSEC-PJK-1536)Fruits and Vegetables (20170620-OSEC-PJK-1501)2017Fruits and Vegetables (20170620-OSEC-PJK-1501)Fruits and Vegetables (20170620-OSEC-PJK-1480)2017Fruits and Vegetables (20170620-OSEC-PJK-1480)Glennwanis Hotel, Glenview, GA, US2015Glennwanis Hotel, Glenview, GA, USUS301nUS25nGA23sGA57nGA144ewSigns-Glennville2013US301nUS25nGA23sGA57nGA144ewSigns-GlennvilleUS Highway 301 - Georgia2013US Highway 301 - GeorgiaUS Highway 301 - Georgia2013US Highway 301 - GeorgiaUS Highway 301 - Georgia2013US Highway 301 - Georgia
On the National Register

1 historic place in Glennville

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
2003
Glennwanis Hotel
Glennwanis Hotel
Buildings
Glennwanis HotelBuilding

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

People over time

Glennville, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 4,144

Between 269 and 4,144 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Glennville

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

See all →
Cole SwindellAmerican singer-songwriter · b. 1983
B
Beach DickersonAmerican actor · b. 1924
Thurman AndersonUnited States Army general · b. 1932
J
Jimmy JordanAmerican football player · b. 1944
L
Laura Belle BarnardMissionary, humanitarian, and educator · b. 1907
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Glennville’s post office has been open since 1889.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Kicklighter
1cemetery inside Glennville
Georgia Veterans Memorial Cemetery Glennville

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

Questions about Glennville’s history

What year was Glennville founded?

The Glennville post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Glennville rank for history?

Glennville is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns, #137 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 Glennville?

One place: the Glennwanis Hotel (listed 2003).

How old are the homes in Glennville?

11% of Glennville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.3 points), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 1984.

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