More historic than 10% of U.S. towns · #231 of 263 in Georgia. What drives it
Most of Redan was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: maps from 1956 on and the census since 1990.
Founding year: the first Redan post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Redan’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Redan is more historic than 10% of U.S. towns, #231 of 263 in Georgia. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Redan’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 Redan’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 (±0.1 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 Redan’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Redan yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Redan is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the CDP had a total population of 31,749. It is a predominantly African American community in eastern DeKalb County, and is a suburb of Atlanta. According to tradition, the name "Redan" is an amalgamation of the names of two early settlers: N. M. Reid and Annie Alford. Redan High School is located in Redan CDP, and Lithonia High School was formerly in the Redan CDP.
Its first post office opened in 1881. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 33,015 to 31,749 (-4%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
The Redan post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Redan rank for history?
Redan is more historic than 10% of U.S. towns, #231 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 Redan?
0.0% of Redan’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 1986.
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), 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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