The story
Read it all →How Milner came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Milner.
The community founded in 1842 and was named after Willis R Milner, a pioneer citizen.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Milner
Milner’s post office opened in 1847, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1951 on and the census since 1880.
1847first post office
0on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Quick answers
How Milner began
When was Milner founded?
1847
The Milner post office opened in 1847, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 442 in 18802020 census: 772179 years
Founding year: the first Milner post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Milner’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Milner’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Milner’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.People over time
Milner, census by census
Lost a third of its people between 1880 and 1970, then more than doubled.
14 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Milner’s Wikipedia page.
Timeline
Milner, 1847 to 2020
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1847Post officeThe Milner post office opens
- 1860
Born hereWilliam Edward White is born here - 20th century
- 1914
Born hereWilson A. Head is born here - 1951
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 21st century
- 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 772
By decade
Milner, decade by decade
2024
2020
2020
2020
2018
2005On the map
Milner on the map, 1951 to 1973
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Milner. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1951Barnesville sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Milner.
Famous people
See all →2 famous people were born in Milner
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Places that used to be
Old burying grounds
Milner’s post office has been open since 1847.
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Milner
Greater Spring Hill Missionary Baptist ChurchMilner ChurchMount Sinai Church
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Milner’s history
What year was Milner founded?
The Milner post office opened in 1847, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (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) 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.