McDonough’s post office opened in 1827, and 6 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 64% of U.S. towns · #77 of 263 in Georgia. What drives it
Most of McDonough was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2006. 6 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 187 buildings. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1905 on, and the census since 1870.
The McDonough post office opened in 1827, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Henry Court House (1823), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 320 in 18702020 census: 29,051199 years
How historic is McDonough?
B
More historic than 64% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first McDonough post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives McDonough’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, McDonough is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #77 of 263 in Georgia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of McDonough’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 McDonough’s 70.8 sits above most of its state (68% of Georgia towns have fewer) while its 219 historic buildings outnumber those of 94% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share (±1.1 points) is firm at this size. 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 McDonough’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The town was named for naval officer Commodore Thomas Macdonough and founded in 1823 around a traditional town square design. The buildings surrounding the square are intact, although there are some vacancies. The county courthouse and historic jail building are on the north side near the Welcome Center in a historically maintained Standard Oil service station, built in 1920. The station also houses the Main Street Program Office.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of McDonough. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1964Mc Donough 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 McDonough.
Every building
McDonough, building by building, 1905–1911
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
The McDonough post office opened in 1827, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does McDonough rank for history?
McDonough is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #77 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 McDonough?
6 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Henry County Courthouse (listed 1980, the first), and 1 historic district, the McDonough Historic District, with 187 contributing buildings. 219 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in McDonough?
2% of McDonough’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.1 points), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 2006.
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 (10), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (6), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1933
1933
1933
1933
2012
2012
2012
2008
2005
