The story
Read it all →How Shannon came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Shannon.
The first settlement at Shannon, first called Ridge Valley, then Hermitage, was made in the 1830s.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
CHistory
History · Shannon
Shannon’s post office opened in 1890, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 31% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1968 on and the census since 1950.
1890first post office
0on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Quick answers
How Shannon began
When was Shannon founded?
1890
The Shannon post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 1,676 in 19502020 census: 1,919136 years
How historic is Shannon?
C
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 31% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Shannon post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Shannon’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Shannon is more historic than 31% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Shannon’s overall grade.
Founding era1890, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194013.8% of homes (±14.3) · typical GA town 3.8% · U.S. 8.4%BNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical GA town 10.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 31%
NewerOlder
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 Shannon’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 C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±14.3 points). 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 Shannon’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Shannon’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Shannon’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
Shannon, 1890 to 1968
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1890Post officeThe Shannon post office opens
- 20th century
- 1928Born hereHal Griggs is born here
- 1968
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade
Shannon, decade by decade
2026
2026
2026
2026
2026
2017On the map
Shannon on the map, 1968 to 1985
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Shannon. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1968Shannon sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Shannon.
People over time
Shannon, census by census
Between 1,514 and 2,040 people in every census since 1950.
8 censuses, 1950–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Shannon’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Old corners and burying grounds
Shannon’s post office has been open since 1890.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Waters Store
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Shannon
Gaines RoadGaines-WattersRush ChapelShannon
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Shannon’s history
What year was Shannon founded?
The Shannon post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Shannon rank for history?
Shannon is more historic than 31% of U.S. towns. 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 Shannon?
14% of Shannon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±14.3 points), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 1955.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (6), 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.