Most of Midway was built recently: 0.7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2003. 3 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Dorchester Academy Boys' Dormitory, a National Historic Landmark, and a historic district with 1 buildings. Below: maps from 1920 on and the census since 1930.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1875.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Midway’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Midway is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Midway’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 Midway’s 18.3 sits near the middle of its state (58% of Georgia towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1752.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A. The pre-1940 share (±0.7 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Midway’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Midway's history dates back to the 18th century. Puritans migrated to St. John's Parish, Georgia, from Dorchester, South Carolina, in 1752 and established several settlements, including what became the Midway community. The Council of Georgia granted them 31,950 acres (129.3 km2), as colonial officials wanted a large number of settlers in the area to help protect them from the Creek Indians. The original Midway settlers were primarily rice planters and developed a strong agricultural economy, aided by the 1,500 slaves they brought from South Carolina.
Passages that mention Midway, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of the Midway Congregational Church, Liberty County, Georgia /1903 · page 24Read the page →
Read the text
On the other hand, DeBrahm, in his history, written 1798, says Midway. The church was incorporated in 1789 under the name of Midway. Dr. Holmes, one of the earlier pastors of the church, in his Annals, says Midway. Although ~ Dr. Jedidiah Morse, who was also minister at the same time for awhile, saysin his Gazetteer, ‘‘ Medway or Midway.”
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of the Midway Congregational Church, Liberty County, Georgia /1903 · page 26Read the page →
Read the text
My own opinion is that the district or neighborhood was named after the river, which was not named Midway, because of any equidistance between any two points, but Medway after the river of that-name in England, and which soon degenerated into the more common and familiar name of Midway, and the church and community soon becoming known by the degenerated appellation, the idea of equidistance being an afterthought. Itisavery easy matter to
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Midway, 1752 to 2020
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1752, according to Wikidata. Midway’s post office opened in 1875, and the census of 1930 counted 42 people here.
How does Midway rank for history?
Midway is more historic than 62% 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 Midway?
Three places: the Dorchester Academy Boys' Dormitory (listed 1986), the Midway Historic District (1973) and the Sam Ripley Farm (2004).
How old are the homes in Midway?
0.7% of Midway’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 2003.
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 (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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 old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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