The story
Read it all →How Snellville came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Snellville.
Before the arrival of European settlers, Creek Indians inhabited the area.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
DHistory
History · Snellville
Snellville dates to 1874
More historic than 11% of U.S. towns · #224 of 263 in Georgia. What drives it
Most of Snellville was built recently: 0.3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1956 on, and the census since 1930.
1874founded
0on the National Register
0.3%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
16famous people
Quick answers
How Snellville began
When was Snellville founded?
1874
Snellville dates its founding to 1874 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1930.
First census: 105 in 19302020 census: 20,573152 years
How historic is Snellville?
D
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 11% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1884.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Snellville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Snellville is more historic than 11% of U.S. towns, #224 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 Snellville’s overall grade.
Founding era1874, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19400.3% of homes (±0.4) · typical GA town 3.8% · U.S. 8.4%DNational 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 11%
NewerOlder
Georgia towns of 2,500+ (263)Ahead of 15%
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 Snellville’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 (±0.4 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1874.
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 Snellville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be
Old corners and burying grounds
Snellville’s post office has been open since 1884.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Abington ParkHickory HillsSummit ChaseThe StationWalkers ParkWilliams Place
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Snellville
PlummerRawlins
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Famous people
See all →16 famous people were born in Snellville
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Timeline
Snellville, 1874 to 2004
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1874FoundingSnellville is established
- 1884Post officeThe Snellville post office opens
- 20th century
- 1933
In the archiveFIRST FLOOR, DETAIL OF MANTEL IN LEFT FRONT ROOM LOOKING NORTH - Benjamin Holmes Farm, 14… - 1956
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1982Born hereBen Bledsoe is born here
- 1983
Born hereEric Shanteau is born here - 1991
In the archiveNORTHEAST REAR AND NORTHWEST SIDE - Benjamin Holmes Farm, Smokehouse, 1458 Dogwood Road - 21st century
- 2003Born hereTyler Wolff is born here
- 2004
Born hereOwen Wolff is born here
By decade
Snellville, decade by decade
2 decades in the archive, from the 1930s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1930s4 items
1933
1933
19331940s–1980snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album1990s2 items
1991
2007
2007
2007
2005
2004
2003On the map
Snellville on the map, 1956 to 1992
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Snellville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1956Snellville 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 Snellville.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewFIRST FLOOR, DETAIL OF MANTEL IN LEFT FRONT ROOM LOOKING NORTH - Benjamin Holmes Farm, 1458 Dogwood Road, 1933
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Snellville’s page.
Retake this view · +15People over time
Snellville, census by census
Grew from 105 people in 1930 to 20,573 in 2020, more than tenfold.
10 censuses, 1930–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Snellville’s Wikipedia page.
Help out
Finish Snellville’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Questions about Snellville’s history
What year was Snellville founded?
In 1874, according to Wikidata. Snellville’s post office opened in 1884, and the census of 1930 counted 105 people here.
How does Snellville rank for history?
Snellville is more historic than 11% of U.S. towns, #224 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 Snellville?
0.3% of Snellville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 1991.
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 (12), 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.