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D−History
History · Sugar Hill

Sugar Hill dates to 1939

Among the newest of U.S. towns · #257 of 263 in Georgia. What drives it

Most of Sugar Hill was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2003. Below: maps from 1964 on and the census since 1940.

1939founded
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Sugar Hill began

When was Sugar Hill founded?

1939

Sugar Hill dates its founding to 1939 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1940.

First census: 599 in 19402020 census: 25,07687 years

How historic is Sugar Hill?

D−

Among the newest of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Sugar Hill’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sugar Hill is among the newest of U.S. towns, #257 of 263 in Georgia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Sugar Hill’s overall grade.
Founding era1939, from Wikipedia: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19400.0% of homes (±0.3) · typical GA town 3.8% · U.S. 8.4%D−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical GA town 10.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Among the newest
NewerOlder
Georgia towns of 2,500+ (263)Ahead of 2%

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 Sugar Hill’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 still be D−. The pre-1940 share (±0.3 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1939.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Sugar Hill’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Sugar Hill are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages4 hamlets and corners are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Sugar Hill’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Sugar Hill’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
Places that used to be

Old corners

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Carrols CrossingFrontier ForestHickory HillsOld Suwanee Estates

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Sugar Hill came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Sugar Hill.

Read it all →

Sugar Hill was established through a charter by the Georgia state assembly in 1939 as the Town of Sugar Hill and officially incorporated on March 24, 1939. The town was renamed the City of Sugar Hill in 1975. Before the city was incorporated, the area was part of a route from the railroad in Buford to the city of Cumming. According to local tradition, the town was named after an incident where a large shipment of sugar spilled and the area became known as "the hill where the sugar spilled" or "the sugar hill".

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Sugar Hill, 1939 to 2002

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1939
    FoundingSugar Hill is established
  3. 1964On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1997Born hereMitch Hyatt is born here
  5. 1998Born hereDerrick Brown is born here
  6. 21st century
  7. 2002Born hereSion James is born here
By decade

Sugar Hill, decade by decade

Today11 recent
The Eagle Theatre2026The Eagle TheatreShine Pizza2026Shine PizzaMuseum and Art Gallery2026Museum and Art GalleryE. E. Robinson Park2026E. E. Robinson ParkTR Small Arms Qualification2024TR Small Arms QualificationTR Small Arms Qualification2024TR Small Arms QualificationSugar Hill, Georgia City Hall Mar 20172017Sugar Hill, Georgia City Hall Mar 2017Park in downtown Sugar Hill, Georgia Mar 20172017Park in downtown Sugar Hill, Georgia Mar 2017Cemetery in downtown Sugar Hill, Georgia Mar 20172017Cemetery in downtown Sugar Hill, Georgia Mar 2017Wrought-iron-fencing2012Wrought-iron-fencingGAMap-doton-SugarHill2005GAMap-doton-SugarHill
On the map

Sugar Hill on the map, 1964 to 1992

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

Sugar Hill on the 1964 USGS mapSugar Hill on the 1972 USGS mapSugar Hill on the 1992 USGS map1964Suwanee 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 Sugar Hill.

People over time

Sugar Hill, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,0001940196019802000202025,076

Grew from 599 people in 1940 to 25,076 in 2020, more than tenfold.

9 censuses, 1940–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Sugar Hill

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

See all →
Sion JamesAmerican basketball player · b. 2002
Derrick BrownAmerican football player · b. 1998
Mitch HyattAmerican football player · b. 1997
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Buford6 historic placesC+Suwanee1 historic placeB−

Questions about Sugar Hill’s history

What year was Sugar Hill founded?

In 1939, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1940 counted 599 people here.

How does Sugar Hill rank for history?

Sugar Hill is among the newest of U.S. towns, #257 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 Sugar Hill?

0.0% of Sugar Hill’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 2003.

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 (11), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.