The story
Read it all →How Maysville came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Maysville.
The Georgia General Assembly incorporated Maysville as a town in 1879.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Maysville Historic District · Photo: Upstateherd · CC BY-SA 3.0AHistory
History · Maysville
Maysville’s post office opened in 1847, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 89% of U.S. towns. What drives it
2 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 201 buildings between them. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1880.
1847first post office
2on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
3famous people
Quick answers
How Maysville began
When was Maysville founded?
1847
The Maysville post office opened in 1847, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 116 in 18802020 census: 1,867179 years
How historic is Maysville?
A
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 89% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Maysville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Maysville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Maysville is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Maysville’s overall grade.
Founding era1847, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194014.7% of homes (±5.7) · typical GA town 3.8% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register2 listings, 201 historic buildings, 964 per 10,000 residents · typical GA town 10.0 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 89%
NewerOlder
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 Maysville’s 964 sits above most of its state (96% of Georgia towns have fewer) while its 201 historic buildings outnumber those of 93% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Maysville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
A historic districtThe Maysville Historic District takes in 194 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1910 and 1940, then grew 3-fold.On the map since 18913 editions of the USGS map, 1891 to 1979. Watch Maysville change.
★ What stands out · On the National Register
2 listings protect 201 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
201
each building in a district counts
first listed
1985
Maysville Historic District
Districts
Architectural styles listings
Victorian1
Victorian Eclectic1
Greek Revival1
Craftsman1
Gabled Ell Cottage1
All 2 listings
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Help out
Start Maysville’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Maysville’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.People over time
Maysville, census by census
Lost a third of its people between 1910 and 1940, then grew 3-fold.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Maysville’s Wikipedia page.
Timeline
Maysville, 1839 to 2020
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1839Born hereW. B. Henderson is born here
- 1847Post officeThe Maysville post office opens
- 1891
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 20th century
- 1906
Born hereDavid L. McDonald is born here - 1908Born hereMattie Lou O'Kelley is born here
- 1940
In the archiveFlorida [Sarasota County (part) - Washington County] -- Georgia [Appling County - Effingh… - 21st century
- 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 1,867
By decade
Maysville, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1940s2 items
![Florida [Sarasota County (part) - Washington County] -- Georgia [Appling County - Effingham County (part)]](https://images.townratings.com/story/2805/c6a5a07ab9136203bf99-s.jpg)
19401950s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
2018
2012
2011
2005On the map
Maysville on the map, 1891 to 1979
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Maysville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1891Gainesville sheet · 1:125,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Maysville.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
![Florida [Sarasota County (part) - Washington County] -- Georgia [Appling County - Effingham County (part)]](https://images.townratings.com/story/2805/b9e21100812888e7233a-l.jpg)
Retake this viewFlorida [Sarasota County (part) - Washington County] -- Georgia [Appling County - Effingham County (part)], 1940
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Maysville’s page.
Retake this view · +15Famous people
See all →3 famous people were born in Maysville
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Questions about Maysville’s history
What year was Maysville founded?
The Maysville post office opened in 1847, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Maysville rank for history?
Maysville is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns. 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 Maysville?
Two places: the Maysville Historic District (listed 1985) and the Turk Family Farm (2003).
How old are the homes in Maysville?
15% of Maysville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.7 points), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 1996.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (6), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.