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C+History
History · Smyrna

Smyrna dates to 1832, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 44% of U.S. towns · #130 of 263 in Georgia. What drives it

Most of Smyrna was built recently: 0.9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. Its Register listings are the J. H. Carmichael Farm and General Store and the Taylor-Brawner House and Brawner Sanitarium. Below: maps from 1954 on and the census since 1880.

1832founded
2on the National Register
0.9%homes built before 1940
6famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Smyrna began

When was Smyrna founded?

1832

Smyrna dates its founding to 1832 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 259 in 18802020 census: 55,663194 years

How historic is Smyrna?

C+

More historic than 44% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1852.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Smyrna’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Smyrna is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #130 of 263 in Georgia. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Smyrna’s overall grade.
Founding era1832, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19400.9% of homes (±0.5) · typical GA town 3.8% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register2 listings, 3 historic buildings, 0.5 per 10,000 residents · typical GA town 10.0 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 44%
NewerOlder
Georgia towns of 2,500+ (263)Ahead of 51%

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 Smyrna’s 0.5 sits below most of its state (34% of Georgia towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1832.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B+. The pre-1940 share (±0.5 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Smyrna’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Smyrna, and 11 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Smyrna are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1890 and 1900, then grew more than tenfold.Deep rootsEstablished in 1832: 194 years of Smyrna.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Smyrna’s post office has been open since 1870. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Neal Dow
1852–1858
Smyrna
1870–today
Oakdale
1899–1912
Camp Highland
1925–1929
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Brookside VillageCountry ParkCountryside at CumberlandCumberland BridgeFarmsteadHeritageMcIvorOakdaleOaks of CumberlandRose Garden HillsThe Highlands
Gone or out of use
Camp Highlandlocale
9cemeteries and burying grounds inside Smyrna
BethelBlair-MillerDanielEdisonGannMount ZionNew SmyrnaSmyrna MemorialSmyrna Memorial

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Start Smyrna’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Smyrna, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00045,00050,00055,00060,00018801900192019401960198020002020416 in 1890Low: 238

Lost a third of its people between 1890 and 1900, then grew more than tenfold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Smyrna came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Smyrna.

Read it all →

Pioneers began settling the area in 1832. By the late 1830s, a religious encampment called Smyrna Camp Ground had become a popular travel destination and was well known throughout Georgia. It is a Greek name for the Biblical city of Smyrna, modern day İzmir in Turkey, the home of the Christian martyr Polycarp. After the completion of the Western and Atlantic Railroad in 1842, the area began to grow. It was known by several names until 1872—Varner's Station, Ruff's Siding, Neal Dow, and Ruff's Station. The city was incorporated with the name Smyrna in 1872.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Smyrna, 1832 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1832
    FoundingSmyrna is established
  3. 1852Post officeThe Neal Dow post office opens
  4. 1858Post officeThe Neal Dow post office closes
  5. 1870Post officeThe Smyrna post office opens
  6. 1899Post officeThe Oakdale post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1912Post officeThe Oakdale post office closes
  9. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1962Born hereC. Martin Croker is born here
  11. 1969Born hereMike Sanders is born here
  12. 1990Born hereZack Wheeler is born here
  13. 1997Born hereBlake Ferguson is born here
  14. 21st century
  15. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 55,663
By decade

Smyrna, decade by decade

Today18 recent
Taylor-Brawner House2017Taylor-Brawner HouseSecond Baptist Church in2017Second Baptist Church inBrawner Sanitarium2017Brawner SanitariumDel Taco2014Del TacoSmyrna Georgia Market Village2013Smyrna Georgia Market VillageSmyrna Georgia City Hall2013Smyrna Georgia City HallDel Taco2012Del Taco2400 Lake Park Drive20112400 Lake Park DriveSmyrna, Georgia - Market Village2009Smyrna, Georgia - Market VillageCampbell high westmain front2009Campbell high westmain frontCampbell high south front2009Campbell high south frontCampbell High Nash Entry2009Campbell High Nash EntryCobbcenter20072007Cobbcenter2007Ccmrichsnorth20072007Ccmrichsnorth2007Ccmrichsmall20072007Ccmrichsmall2007Ccmrichsmain20072007Ccmrichsmain2007GAMap-doton-Smyrna2005GAMap-doton-SmyrnaAtlanta from2004Atlanta from
On the map

Smyrna on the map, 1954 to 1992

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

Smyrna on the 1954 USGS mapSmyrna on the 1968 USGS mapSmyrna on the 1973 USGS mapSmyrna on the 1983 USGS mapSmyrna on the 1992 USGS map1954Marietta 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 Smyrna.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Smyrna

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
J. H. Carmichael Farm and General Store
J. H. Carmichael Farm and General StoreTaylor-Brawner House and Brawner Sanitarium
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Victorian1
Classical Revival1
Georgian Cottage1
All 2 listings
J. H. Carmichael Farm and General StoreBuilding · listed 1980Taylor-Brawner House and Brawner SanitariumBuilding · listed 2012

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

6 famous people were born in Smyrna

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Zack WheelerAmerican professional baseball player · b. 1990
C. Martin CrokerAmerican animator · b. 1962
Blake FergusonAmerican football player · b. 1997
M
Mike SandersAmerican professional wrestler and stand-up com… · b. 1969
K
Kyle FowlerAmerican stock car racing driver · b. 1992
T
Tay Glover-WrightAmerican-football player · b. 1992
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Mableton8 historic placesB−Fair Oaks1 historic placeCMarietta15 historic placesBAtlanta231 historic placesA

Questions about Smyrna’s history

What year was Smyrna founded?

In 1832, according to Wikidata. Smyrna’s post office opened in 1852, and the census of 1880 counted 259 people here.

How does Smyrna rank for history?

Smyrna is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #130 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.

What is on the National Register in Smyrna?

Two places: the J. H. Carmichael Farm and General Store (listed 1980) and the Taylor-Brawner House and Brawner Sanitarium (2012).

How old are the homes in Smyrna?

0.9% of Smyrna’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 1990.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (18), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.