Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 47% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Homer was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2003. 3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 17 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1979 on, and the census since 1870.
Homer dates its founding to 1858 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1870.
More historic than 47% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Homer is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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 Homer’s 111 sits above most of its state (72% of Georgia towns have fewer) while its 21 historic buildings outnumber those of 80% of U.S. towns.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Homer’s history is told.
Lost a third of its people between 1960 and 1970, then grew 3-fold.
15 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Homer’s Wikipedia page.
From Wikipedia’s history of Homer.
The community was named after Homer Jackson, a pioneer citizen. Homer was founded in 1858 as seat for the newly established Banks County. Homer was incorporated as a town in 1859, and its first courthouse was built in 1863.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In the archiveEAST FRONT GABLED DORMERS. - John C. Wood Homeplace, House, U.S. 441
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyOne decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
2020Homer-Leopard-restaurant-ga
2017Clouds gather over the highway outside Homer, Georgia
2014Banks County Primary School
2014Banks County Middle School
2014Banks County High School
2014Banks County High School 2
2014Banks County Elementary School
2014Banks County Board of Education
2014BCBOE Sign
2011GABanks01a
2007HomerGeorgiaSideStreetBaptistChurch
2007HomerGeorgiaOldBanksCountyCourtHouse
2007HomerGeorgiaDownTownParkLookingTowardsOldCourtHouse
2007HomerGeorgiaDownTownMainStreet
2007Courthouse of Banks County, Georgia
2005GAMap-doton-HomerThe U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Homer.
1979Commerce sheet · 1:100,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Homer.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Homer’s page.
Retake this view · +15The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
In 1858, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Homer’s post office opened in 1860, and the census of 1870 counted 120 people here.
Homer is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns. 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.
Three places: the Banks County Courthouse (listed 1980), the Banks County Jail (1982) and the Homer Historic District (1985).
5% of Homer’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.4 points), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 2003.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (17), the Library of Congress (1), 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.
1933