Leesburg dates to 1870, and 3 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 31% of U.S. towns · #168 of 263 in Georgia. What drives it
Most of Leesburg was built recently: 0.5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2005. Its Register listings are the Lee County Courthouse, the Leesburg High School and the Leesburg Depot. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1956 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1868.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Leesburg’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Leesburg is more historic than 31% of U.S. towns, #168 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 Leesburg’s overall grade.
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 Leesburg’s 19.8 sits near the middle of its state (60% of Georgia towns have fewer) while its 7 historic buildings outnumber those of 73% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B−. The pre-1940 share (±0.9 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1870.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Leesburg’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Leesburg, originally known as "Wooten Station", was founded in 1870 as the Central of Georgia Railway arrived in the area. In 1872, the town was renamed "Wooten", and the seat was transferred from Starksville. In 1874, the town was incorporated and renamed again to its present form of Leesburg.
Leesburg is the site of the Leesburg Stockade incident, in which a group of African-American teenage and pre-teen girls were arrested for protesting racial segregation in Americus, Georgia, and were imprisoned without charges for 60 days in poor conditions in the Lee County Public Works building.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Leesburg’s post office has been open since 1873. Another post office, Wootten, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Wootten
1868–1873
Leesburg
1873–today
18601940today
1cemetery inside Leesburg
Leesburg
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Leesburg’s history
What year was Leesburg founded?
In 1870, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Leesburg’s post office opened in 1868, and the census of 1880 counted 358 people here.
How does Leesburg rank for history?
Leesburg is more historic than 31% of U.S. towns, #168 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 Leesburg?
Three places: the Lee County Courthouse (listed 1980), the Leesburg High School (2006) and the Leesburg Depot (2008).
How old are the homes in Leesburg?
0.5% of Leesburg’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 2005.
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 (5), Wikidata (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.
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