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History · Molena

Molena’s post office opened in 1887, and 55% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Barker, William, Whiskey Bonding Barn. Below: maps from 1979 on and the census since 1890.

1887first post office
1on the National Register
55%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Molena began

When was Molena founded?

1887

The Molena post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Jenkinsville (1876), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 198 in 18902020 census: 392139 years
Founding year: the first Molena post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Molena’s 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 Molena are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Molena’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Molena’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Molena came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Molena.

Read it all →

Early variant names were "Snidersville" and "Jenkinsville". The Georgia General Assembly incorporated Molena as a city in 1905.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Molena, 1870 to 1979

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1870BuiltBarker, William, Whiskey Bonding Barn is built
  3. 1876Post officeThe Jenkinsville post office opens
  4. 1887Post officeThe Jenkinsville post office closes
  5. 1887Post officeThe Molena post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1979On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Molena, decade by decade

Today12 recent
JROTC Raider Challenge2022JROTC Raider ChallengeWater Tower2017Water TowerStorytellers Antiques2017Storytellers AntiquesMolena Post Office2017Molena Post OfficeMolena Post Office Plaque2017Molena Post Office PlaqueMolena Old Jail2017Molena Old JailMolena House2017Molena HouseMolena High School corner stone2017Molena High School corner stoneMolena Health & Rehab2017Molena Health & RehabMolena City Hall2017Molena City HallFirst Bank of Pike2017First Bank of PikeGAMap-doton-Molena2005GAMap-doton-Molena
On the map

Molena on the map in 1979

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Molena.

Molena on the 1979 USGS map1979Griffin sheet · 1:100,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Molena.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Molena

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2008
Barker, William, Whiskey Bonding Barn
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Barn1
Barker, William, Whiskey Bonding BarnBarn · Built 1870

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Molena, census by census

01002003004005001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 475

Between 198 and 475 people in every census since 1890.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Molena’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Molena’s post office has been open since 1887. Another post office, Jenkinsville, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Jenkinsville
1876–1887
Molena
1887–today
18701950today
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Molena
BluntMolena

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

Questions about Molena’s history

What year was Molena founded?

The Molena post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Molena?

One place: the Barker, William, Whiskey Bonding Barn (listed 2008).

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 Wikimedia Commons (12), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.