Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Most of Rayle was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. Below: maps from 1906 on and the census since 1970.
The Rayle post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name.
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 Rayle’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Rayle. 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 Rayle.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Rayle yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Rayle is a town in Wilkes County, Georgia, United States. The population was 158 in 2020.
Its first post office opened in 1892. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 199 to 158 (-21%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Between 107 and 199 people in every census since 1970.
6 censuses, 1970–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Rayle’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Rayle itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Rayle post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From 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.
