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CHistory
History · Jesup

Jesup dates to 1869, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 29% of U.S. towns · #174 of 263 in Georgia. What drives it

Most of Jesup was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1970. Its Register listings are the Wayne County Courthouse, the Leonard Carter House and the John W. C. Trowell House. Below: maps from 1889 on and the census since 1880.

1869founded
3on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
18famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Jesup began

When was Jesup founded?

1869

Jesup dates its founding to 1869 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 562 in 18802020 census: 9,809157 years

How historic is Jesup?

C

More historic than 29% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1871.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Jesup’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Jesup is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns, #174 of 263 in Georgia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Jesup’s overall grade.
Founding era1869, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19401.7% of homes (±1.5) · typical GA town 3.8% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register3 listings, 4 historic buildings, 4.0 per 10,000 residents · typical GA town 10.0 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 29%
NewerOlder
Georgia towns of 2,500+ (263)Ahead of 34%

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 Jesup’s 4.0 sits near the middle of its state (42% of Georgia towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. The pre-1940 share (±1.5 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1869.

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 →

What stands out about Jesup’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 Jesup are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1889 to 1920, drew every building in Jesup.On the map since 19184 editions of the USGS map, 1918 to 1988. Watch Jesup change.Famous sons and daughtersErriyon Knighton, David Larson and 16 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Jesup’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Jesup’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
Every building

Jesup, building by building, 1889–1920

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.

Jesup fire insurance map, 1889, sheet 11889Sheet 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.

On the map

Jesup on the map, 1918 to 1988

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

Jesup on the 1918 USGS mapJesup on the 1943 USGS mapJesup on the 1970 USGS mapJesup on the 1988 USGS map1918Jesup 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 Jesup.

The story

How Jesup came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Jesup.

Read it all →

By February 1869, Willis Clary had begun building a two-story hotel near the junction of Macon and Brunswick Railroad and the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad and four stores had sprung up in the area. Clary became a driving force for the establishment of what would become Jesup and was its first mayor.

By September 1869, the town included five stores, a sawmill, and a railroad eating house in addition to Clary's hotel. By December 1869, the community had become known as Jesup.

Jesup was named for Thomas Jesup, a general during the Second Seminole War.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Jesup, 1869 to 2004

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1869
    FoundingJesup is established
  3. 1871Post officeThe Jesup post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1918On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1959Born hereDavid Larson is born here
  7. 1960Born hereLindsay Scott is born here
  8. 1981Born hereTasha Cobbs is born here
  9. 21st century
  10. 2004Born hereErriyon Knighton is born here
By decade

Jesup, decade by decade

Today24 recent
US84 WB 341 intersection2017US84 WB 341 intersectionRayonier Park2017Rayonier ParkRailroad overpass, N 1st St2017Railroad overpass, N 1st StJordan Spreader at Jesup Depot2017Jordan Spreader at Jesup DepotJesup city limit US341EB2017Jesup city limit US341EBJesup City Limit US84EB2017Jesup City Limit US84EBJesup Atlantic Coast Line caboose2017Jesup Atlantic Coast Line cabooseGeorgia Forestry tower2017Georgia Forestry towerUS Highway 84 - Georgia2013US Highway 84 - GeorgiaUS Highway 84 - Georgia2013US Highway 84 - GeorgiaUS Highway 84 - Georgia2013US Highway 84 - GeorgiaUS Highway 84 - Georgia2013US Highway 84 - GeorgiaUS Highway 84 - Georgia2013US Highway 84 - GeorgiaUS Highway 84 - Georgia2013US Highway 84 - GeorgiaUS Highway 84 - Georgia2013US Highway 84 - GeorgiaUS Highway 84 - Georgia2013US Highway 84 - GeorgiaView along Altamaha River from bluffs, near Jesup, Ga2011View along Altamaha River from bluffs, near Jesup, GaPost office and Cherry St., Jesup, Ga2011Post office and Cherry St., Jesup, GaDevil's Den, on Altamaha River, near Jesup, Ga2011Devil's Den, on Altamaha River, near Jesup, GaCherry Street looking east, Jesup, Ga2011Cherry Street looking east, Jesup, GaCherokee Court, U. S. 301, 2 miles north2011Cherokee Court, U. S. 301, 2 miles northBridge over Phinholloway Creek, entering Jesup, Ga2011Bridge over Phinholloway Creek, entering Jesup, Ga2010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map for20102010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map forBookGAMap-doton-Jesup2005GAMap-doton-Jesup
On the National Register

3 historic places in Jesup

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Wayne County Courthouse
Wayne County CourthouseLeonard Carter HouseJohn W. C. Trowell House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Queen Anne2
Romanesque1
Wayne County CourthouseRomanesque
Leonard Carter HouseQueen Anne
John W. C. Trowell HouseQueen Anne

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

People over time

Jesup, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 10,214

Between 562 and 10,214 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

18 famous people were born in Jesup

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

See all →
Erriyon KnightonAmerican male sprinter · b. 2004
D
David LarsonAmerican swimmer · b. 1959
Tasha CobbsAmerican urban contemporary gospel singer · b. 1981
L
Lindsay ScottAmerican football player · b. 1960
T. Y. McGillAmerican football player · b. 1992
T
Tre' JacksonAmerican football player · b. 1992
Places that used to be

Old corners and places now gone

Jesup’s post office has been open since 1871.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Ponderosa Village Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
First Missionary Baptist ChurchchurchGreater Morris Chapel Baptist ChurchchurchMount Carmel Methodist ChurchchurchRitch-Leaphart Hospitalhospital

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

Questions about Jesup’s history

What year was Jesup founded?

In 1869, according to Wikidata. Jesup’s post office opened in 1871, and the census of 1880 counted 562 people here.

How does Jesup rank for history?

Jesup is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns, #174 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 Jesup?

Three places: the Wayne County Courthouse (listed 1980), the Leonard Carter House (1989) and the John W. C. Trowell House (1993).

How old are the homes in Jesup?

2% of Jesup’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.5 points), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 1970.

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 (24), 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), 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.