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History · Rest Haven

Rest Haven dates to 1938

Most of Rest Haven was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1993. Below: maps from 1964 on and the census since 1940.

1938founded
0on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Rest Haven began

When was Rest Haven founded?

1938

Rest Haven dates its founding to 1938 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1940.

First census: 91 in 19402020 census: 4588 years
Founding year: Wikidata.The full story ↓

What stands out about Rest Haven’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 Rest Haven are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 231 in 1980; 45 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Rest Haven’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Rest Haven’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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People over time

Rest Haven, census by census

010020019401960198020002020Peak: 231

Peaked at 231 in 1980; 45 people lived here in 2020.

9 censuses, 1940–2020.

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

The story

How Rest Haven came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Rest Haven.

Read it all →

It was announced on September 19, 2005, that the town leaders wished to be annexed into Buford, a much larger city which surrounds Rest Haven except on the north. A previous attempt to do so in 2001 ended in a lawsuit and a judge ordered Rest Haven to remain a city. Some property owners have already de-annexed from the town and annexed into Buford. [1] ([2])

State law prohibits annexation of one city into another, so the town would first have to vote in a referendum to dissolve. It would then go through the annexation process, requiring approval of the Buford city council and a second referendum of the former Rest Haven residents.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Rest Haven, 1938 to 1980

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1938
    FoundingRest Haven is established
  3. 1964On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 231
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Rest Haven on the map, 1964 to 1999

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

Rest Haven on the 1964 USGS mapRest Haven on the 1973 USGS mapRest Haven on the 1999 USGS map1964Flowery Branch 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 Rest Haven.

Famous people

Famous people close to Rest Haven

Nobody well known was born in Rest Haven itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
T
TakeoffAmerican rapper · b. 1994
Margaret Woodrow WilsonActing First Lady of the United States · b. 1886
Sean JohnsonAmerican soccer player · b. 1989
Walker ZimmermanAmerican soccer player · b. 1993
Ezzard CharlesAmerican boxer · b. 1921
Doug CollinsAmerican lawyer and politician · b. 1966

Questions about Rest Haven’s history

What year was Rest Haven founded?

In 1938, according to Wikidata. the census of 1940 counted 91 people here.

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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.