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History · Lumber City

Lumber City’s post office opened in 1837

Most of Lumber City was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Below: maps from 1971 on and the census since 1890.

1837first post office
0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Lumber City began

When was Lumber City founded?

1837

The Lumber City post office opened in 1837, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 471 in 18902020 census: 967189 years
Founding year: the first Lumber City post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Lumber City’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 Lumber City are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,429 in 1990; 967 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsA post office since 1837: 189 years of Lumber City.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lumber City’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lumber City’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

Lumber City, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,429

Peaked at 1,429 in 1990; 967 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Timeline

Lumber City, 1837 to 1990

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1837Post officeThe Lumber City post office opens
  3. 1863Born hereJames Henry McRae is born here
  4. 1897Born hereKyle Wooten is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1971On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1990CensusPopulation peaks at 1,429
The story

How Lumber City came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lumber City.

Read it all →

The Georgia General Assembly incorporated Lumber City as a town in 1889. The community was named for a sawmill near the original town site.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Lumber City, decade by decade

Today5 recent
177 BEB Infection Control Team2020177 BEB Infection Control TeamOcmulgee River boat ramp, Lumber City Landing2016Ocmulgee River boat ramp, Lumber City LandingLumber City city limit US341NB2016Lumber City city limit US341NBLumber City city limit US19SB2016Lumber City city limit US19SBGAMap-doton-LumberCity2005GAMap-doton-LumberCity
On the map

Lumber City on the map, 1971 to 1988

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

Lumber City on the 1971 USGS mapLumber City on the 1988 USGS map1971Lumber City 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 Lumber City.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Lumber City

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

See all →
James Henry McRaeAmerican Army general · b. 1863
K
Kyle WootenAmerican blues musician · b. 1897

Questions about Lumber City’s history

What year was Lumber City founded?

The Lumber City post office opened in 1837, 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 (5), 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.