Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Most of Scotland was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. Below: maps from 1970 on and the census since 1890.
The Scotland post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Mc Ville (1870), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
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 Scotland’s history is told.
Peaked at 366 in 2010; 173 people lived here in 2020.
12 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Scotland’s Wikipedia page.
From Wikipedia’s history of Scotland.
Settled by Scottish Presbyterians shortly after the American Civil War, the community was first known as "McVille" due to the ancestry of most of the first residents. The community was later renamed Scotland to avoid confusion with nearby McRae, Georgia. The Georgia General Assembly incorporated Scotland as a town in 1911.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Scotland. 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 Scotland.
Scotland’s post office has been open since 1888. Another post office, Mc Ville, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Scotland post office opened in 1888, 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 Wikimedia Commons (3), 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.
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