More historic than 5% of U.S. towns · #241 of 263 in Georgia. What drives it
Most of Port Wentworth was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2006. Below: maps from 1955 on and the census since 1960.
The Port Wentworth post office opened in 1918, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Meinhard (1898), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 3,705 in 19602020 census: 10,878108 years
How historic is Port Wentworth?
D
More historic than 5% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Port Wentworth post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Port Wentworth’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Port Wentworth is more historic than 5% of U.S. towns, #241 of 263 in Georgia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Port Wentworth’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 Port Wentworth’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.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±1.6 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 Port Wentworth’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The Georgia General Assembly incorporated Port Wentworth in 1957.
On February 7, 2008, an explosion at the historic Dixie Crystals sugar plant, established in 1916 on Oxnard Drive, killed 14 people and injured at least 40 others. The victims ranged in age from 18 to 56. The blast could be heard as far away as Levy, South Carolina, where it shook house walls. The accident brought Port Wentworth national and international notice; it was widely reported in European and Asian media.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Port Wentworth. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1955Port Wentworth 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 Port Wentworth.
People over time
Port Wentworth, census by census
Grew from 3,705 people in 1960 to 10,878 in 2020.
7 censuses, 1960–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Port Wentworth’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone
Port Wentworth had its own post office from 1918 to 1944. Another post office, Meinhard, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Meinhard
1898–1908
Port Wentworth
1918–1944
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
MeinhardO'Leary
Gone or out of use
Abercorn PlantationlocaleRichmond Oak Grove PlantationlocaleWhitehill Plantationlocale
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Port Wentworth post office opened in 1918, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Port Wentworth rank for history?
Port Wentworth is more historic than 5% of U.S. towns, #241 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.
How old are the homes in Port Wentworth?
2% of Port Wentworth’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.6 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 (12), 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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