More historic than 12% of U.S. towns · #218 of 263 in Georgia. What drives it
Most of Riverdale was built recently: 0.7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. Below: maps from 1954 on and the census since 1910.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1888.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Riverdale’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Riverdale is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns, #218 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 Riverdale’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 Riverdale’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 (±0.9 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1886.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Riverdale’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The area now known as Riverdale was settled before the Civil War. Riverdale was founded in 1886, when the railroad was extended there. Named for Mr. W. S. Rivers, the original owner of the town site who donated his land to the railroad company, the city was incorporated in 1908.
Monroe Huie, a farmer, supplied lumber to the local railway network. Whenever the train arrived to collect wood, it also delivered fertilizer to the region. As a result, fertilizer sales became the primary business endeavor in the area. Prior to the construction of the spur, fertilizer had to be transported in wagons from the nearby town of Jonesboro.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Riverdale. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1954Riverdale 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 Riverdale.
People over time
Riverdale, census by census
Between 139 and 15,134 people in every census since 1910.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Riverdale’s Wikipedia page.
Questions about Riverdale’s history
What year was Riverdale founded?
In 1886, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Riverdale’s post office opened in 1888, and the census of 1910 counted 139 people here.
How does Riverdale rank for history?
Riverdale is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns, #218 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 Riverdale?
0.7% of Riverdale’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 1990.
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 (5), 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.
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