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History · Poulan

Poulan dates to 1877, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Possum Poke and the Poulan Library. Below: maps from 1956 on and the census since 1900.

1877founded
2on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
1famous people
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Quick answers

How Poulan began

When was Poulan founded?

1877

Poulan dates its founding to 1877 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 474 in 19002020 census: 760149 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1879.The full story ↓

What stands out about Poulan’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 Poulan are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Poulan’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Poulan’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 Poulan came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Poulan.

Read it all →

The Georgia General Assembly incorporated Poulan as a town in 1889. The city was named for Judge W. A. Poulan. The remnants of what was once a bank and pharmacy are still standing on Broad Street. Poulan is also home to the only two historical registered properties in Worth County; the Poulan Library and Possum Poke. Poulan was settled in 1877 along the Brunswick and Albany railroad.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Poulan, 1877 to 1956

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1877
    FoundingPoulan is established
  3. 1879Post officeThe Poulan post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1908BuiltPoulan Library is built
  6. 1921Born hereHowell Heflin is born here
  7. 1956On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Poulan, decade by decade

Today11 recent
US82WB, Poulan city limit2024US82WB, Poulan city limitWelcome to Possum Poke2015Welcome to Possum PokePoulan Library2015Poulan LibraryPossum Poke, building near one entrance2015Possum Poke, building near one entranceLibrary2015LibraryPoulan Post Office2013Poulan Post OfficePoulan Police Car2013Poulan Police CarPoulan City Park2013Poulan City ParkPoulan City Hall Police Station2013Poulan City Hall Police StationPoulan City Council, Courtroom, Fire Station2013Poulan City Council, Courtroom, Fire StationGAMap-doton-Poulan2005GAMap-doton-Poulan
On the map

Poulan on the map, 1956 to 1973

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Poulan. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Poulan on the 1956 USGS mapPoulan on the 1973 USGS map1956Sylvester sheet · 1:62,500

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

On the National Register

2 historic places in Poulan

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1982
Possum Poke
Possum PokePoulan Library, built 1908
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Plantation Plain1
Bungalow1
Colonial Revival1
Possum PokePlantation Plain
Poulan LibraryColonial Revival · Built 1908

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

People over time

Poulan, census by census

02004006008001,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 962

Between 474 and 962 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Poulan’s post office has been open since 1879.

Gone or out of use
Poulan Consolidated Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Poulan
Poulan

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

Questions about Poulan’s history

What year was Poulan founded?

In 1877, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Poulan’s post office opened in 1879, and the census of 1900 counted 474 people here.

What is on the National Register in Poulan?

Two places: the Possum Poke (listed 1982) and the Poulan Library (2003).

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 (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.