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History · Leary

Leary’s post office opened in 1873, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1974 on and the census since 1880.

1873first post office
0on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Michael Rivera · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Leary began

When was Leary founded?

1873

The Leary post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 304 in 18802020 census: 524153 years
Founding year: the first Leary post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Leary’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 Leary are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 907 in 1970; 524 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Leary’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Leary’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
People over time

Leary, census by census

02004006008001,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 907

Peaked at 907 in 1970; 524 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Leary came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Leary.

Read it all →

On October 2, 1916, a woman named Connelly, whose son was accused of murder, was taken from the Leary jail and lynched. Her body, riddled with bullets was found two days later.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Leary, 1873 to 1978

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873Post officeThe Leary post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1928Born hereBill Currie is born here
  5. 1942Born herePenny Houston is born here
  6. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 907
  7. 1974On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1978Born hereChone Figgins is born here
By decade

Leary, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Leary Methodist Church2014Leary Methodist ChurchLeary Library2014Leary LibraryLeary Depot, SE corner2014Leary Depot, SE cornerLeary Depot, NE corner2014Leary Depot, NE cornerLeary City Hall2014Leary City HallLeary City Cemetery2014Leary City CemeteryLeary Baptist Church2014Leary Baptist ChurchHotel St2014Hotel StGA62 railroad crossing NB2014GA62 railroad crossing NBFormer Gas Station, Hotel St2014Former Gas Station, Hotel StBoyd monument2014Boyd monumentGAMap-doton-Leary2005GAMap-doton-Leary
On the map

Leary on the map, 1974 to 1981

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

Leary on the 1974 USGS mapLeary on the 1981 USGS map1974Leary 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 Leary.

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Leary

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

See all →
Chone FigginsMajor League Baseball shortstop in the Los Ange… · b. 1978
B
Bill CurrieBaseball player · b. 1928
Penny HoustonAmerican politician from Georgia · b. 1942

Questions about Leary’s history

What year was Leary founded?

The Leary post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (12), 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.