St. Marys dates to 1792, and 3 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 56% of U.S. towns · #92 of 263 in Georgia. What drives it
Most of St. Marys was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1994. 3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 35 buildings. Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1918 on, and the census since 1810.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1828.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives St. Marys’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, St. Marys is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #92 of 263 in Georgia. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of St. Marys’ 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 St. Marys’ 18.8 sits near the middle of its state (59% of Georgia towns have fewer) while its 36 historic buildings outnumber those of 83% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share (±0.8 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1792.
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 St. Marys’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost two-thirds of its people between 1820 and 1840, then grew more than tenfold.
19 censuses, 1810–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on St. Marys’ Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Admirals WalkCrooked River PlantationHarbor PinesLands EndMission TraceNorth River MarshesNorth River OaksQuail HollowRiver OaksRiverviewSaint MarysShadowlandSugar Mill PlantationVillage Oaks Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Church of Our SaviorchurchNew Town PlantationlocaleSt Marys Airportairport
1cemetery inside St. Marys
Oak Grove
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the National Register
3 listings protect 36 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
The St. Marys river area was first explored by Spanish expeditions in the mid 16th century as part of the settlement of Spanish Florida, with nearby St. Augustine as the established capital. The original Spanish settlement was founded in 1566, making this the second-oldest continuously inhabited European-established settlement in what became the contiguous United States. Settlement for colonial Georgians became legal after the Treaty of Paris in 1763, when Britain exchanged some territory with Spain after defeating France in the Seven Years' War.
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.
In 1792, according to Wikidata. St. Marys’ post office opened in 1828, and the census of 1810 counted 268 people here.
How does St. Marys rank for history?
St. Marys is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #92 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 St. Marys?
Three places: the Orange Hall (listed 1973), the St. Marys Historic District (1976) and the McIntosh, John Houstoun, Sugarhouse (1992).
How old are the homes in St. Marys?
1% of St. Marys’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 1994.
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 (1), the Library of Congress (10), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.
1936
1936
1936
1936
1936
1936
1936
1936
1936
1936
