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History · Matthews

Matthews’ post office opened in 1885, and 56% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1920 on.

1885first post office
0on the National Register
56%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Matthews began

When was Matthews founded?

1885

The Matthews post office opened in 1885, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 146141 years
Founding year: the first Matthews post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Matthews’ 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 Matthews are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19203 editions of the USGS map, 1920 to 1950. Watch Matthews change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Matthews’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Matthews’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Matthews on the map, 1920 to 1950

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

Matthews on the 1920 USGS mapMatthews on the 1948 USGS mapMatthews on the 1950 USGS map1920Stapleton 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 Matthews.

The story so far

Matthews, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Matthews yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Matthews is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Jefferson County, Georgia, United States. Its population was 146 as of the 2020 census. Georgia State Route 88 passes through the community.

Its first post office opened in 1885. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 150 to 146 (-3%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Matthews, 1885 to 1985

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1885Post officeThe Matthews post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1920On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1985Post officeThe Matthews post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Famous people

Famous people close to Matthews

Nobody well known was born in Matthews itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Oliver HardyAmerican comic actor famous as one half of Laur… · b. 1892
Reese HoffaAmerican shot putter · b. 1977
Mirabeau B. LamarAmerican politician · b. 1798
Millie JacksonAmerican singer · b. 1944
Thomas E. WatsonAmerican politician, attorney, editor and writer · b. 1856
Vonteego CummingsAmerican basketball player · b. 1976
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Matthews had its own post office from 1885 to 1985.

Matthews
1885–1985
18801950today
1cemetery inside Matthews
Flat Rock

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

Questions about Matthews’ history

What year was Matthews founded?

The Matthews post office opened in 1885, 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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.