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C+History
History · Lula

Lula dates to 1874, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 41% of U.S. towns · #136 of 263 in Georgia. What drives it

Most of Lula was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2001. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 16 buildings. Below: maps from 1964 on and the census since 1900.

1874founded
1on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Lula began

When was Lula founded?

1874

Lula dates its founding to 1874 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 217 in 19002020 census: 2,822152 years

How historic is Lula?

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: Wikipedia. First post office: 1873.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Lula’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lula is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns, #136 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 Lula’s overall grade.
Founding era1874, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19403.0% of homes (±1.9) · typical GA town 3.8% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register1 listing, 16 historic buildings, 54.0 per 10,000 residents · typical GA town 10.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
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 Lula’s 54.0 sits above most of its state (67% of Georgia towns have fewer) while its 16 historic buildings outnumber those of 78% 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 (±1.9 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1874.

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 Lula’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 Lula are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lula’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lula’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
The story

How Lula came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lula.

Read it all →

It has been recorded by many that the naming of the city of Lula was inspired by a daughter of the Athens businessman Ferdinand Phinizy. There is no official record that any of Phinizy's children were named Lula, but some assume that it could have been a nickname for one his daughters. Nonetheless, the town was created in part because of Phinizy. A business man and director of railroad companies, he bought the White Sulphur Springs Resort that rested between the city of Gainesville and where Lula would one day be. Because of this, Phinizy encouraged the establishment and building of railroads to run through Hall County.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Lula, 1873 to 1964

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873Post officeThe Bellton post office opens
  3. 1874
    FoundingLula is established
  4. 1879Post officeThe Lula post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1912Born hereJohn Hyder is born here
  7. 1929Born hereTommy Irvin is born here
  8. 1957Post officeThe Bellton post office closes
  9. 1964On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Lula, decade by decade

Today7 recent
Lula Elementary School2025Lula Elementary SchoolLula-caboose-ga2020Lula-caboose-ga"I Make It Look Easy"2015"I Make It Look Easy"Lulasign2009LulasignLulageorgia2009LulageorgiaLULA RESIDENTIAL HISTORIC DIST., HALL CTY2007LULA RESIDENTIAL HISTORIC DIST., HALL CTYGAMap-doton-Lula2005GAMap-doton-Lula
On the map

Lula on the map, 1964 to 1985

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

Lula on the 1964 USGS mapLula on the 1985 USGS map1964Lula 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 Lula.

On the National Register

1 listing protects 16 historic buildings

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
16
each building in a district counts
first listed
1985
Lula Residential Historic District
Lula Residential Historic District
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Victorian1
Lula Residential Historic DistrictVictorian

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

People over time

Lula, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,00019001920194019601980200020202,822

Grew from 217 people in 1900 to 2,822 in 2020, more than tenfold.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Lula

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

See all →
Tommy IrvinAmerican politician · b. 1929
John HyderAmerican basketball player and coach; minor lea… · b. 1912
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Lula’s post office has been open since 1879. Another post office, Bellton, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Bellton
1873–1957
Lula
1879–today
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BelltonBelton
1cemetery inside Lula
Bellton Baptist

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

Questions about Lula’s history

What year was Lula founded?

In 1874, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Lula’s post office opened in 1873, and the census of 1900 counted 217 people here.

How does Lula rank for history?

Lula is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns, #136 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 Lula?

One place: the Lula Residential Historic District (listed 1985).

How old are the homes in Lula?

3% of Lula’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.9 points), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 2001.

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 (7), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.