Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 44% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1926 on and the census since 1890.
The Nelson post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 44% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Nelson is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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 Nelson’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (16% of Georgia towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Nelson’s history is told.
Lost a third of its people between 1930 and 1990, then more than doubled.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Nelson’s Wikipedia page.
From Wikipedia’s history of Nelson.
The city is named for John Nelson, an early landowner, farmer, and rifle maker. The Georgia General Assembly incorporated Nelson as a town in 1891.
The area possesses substantial deposits of marble. The railway construction in 1883 made the development of large-scale quarries possible. The quality of the marble has made it favored for federal monuments.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereClaude Akins is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Nelson. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Nelson.
The Nelson post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Nelson is more historic than 44% 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.
28% of Nelson’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±18.5 points), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 1993.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (8), 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.
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