The story
Read it all →How Putney came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Putney.
A post office called Putney was established in 1897. The community was named after Francis F. Putney, a local landowner.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
C−History
History · Putney
Putney’s post office opened in 1897
More historic than 17% of U.S. towns · #208 of 263 in Georgia. What drives it
Most of Putney was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. Below: maps from 1956 on and the census since 1990.
1897first post office
0on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Putney began
When was Putney founded?
1897
The Putney post office opened in 1897, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Pecan City (1911), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 3,108 in 19902020 census: 2,869129 years
How historic is Putney?
C−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 17% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Putney post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Putney’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Putney is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns, #208 of 263 in Georgia. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Putney’s overall grade.
Founding era1897, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19402.9% of homes (±3.7) · typical GA town 3.8% · U.S. 8.4%C−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical GA town 10.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 17%
NewerOlder
Georgia towns of 2,500+ (263)Ahead of 21%
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 Putney’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 C−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.7 points). 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 Putney’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 Putney’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Putney’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone
Putney’s post office has been open since 1897. Another post office, Pecan City, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Putney
Pecan City
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Hollands FollyLoretta HeightsPecan CityRiver BendWilliamsburg
Gone or out of use
Shiloh Churchchurch
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Timeline
Putney, 1897 to 1956
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
By decade
Putney, decade by decade
2015
2015
2015
2015
2015
2005On the map
Putney on the map, 1956 to 1988
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Putney. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1956Baconton 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 Putney.
People over time
Putney, census by census
Between 2,869 and 3,108 people in every census since 1990.
4 censuses, 1990–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Putney’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Putney
Nobody well known was born in Putney itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Questions about Putney’s history
What year was Putney founded?
The Putney post office opened in 1897, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Putney rank for history?
Putney is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns, #208 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 Putney?
3% of Putney’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.7 points), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 1974.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (6), 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.