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History · Talbotton

Talbotton’s post office opened in 1828, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

8 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 22 buildings. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1895 on, and the census since 1870.

1828first post office
8on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
10old photos & papers
9famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Talbotton’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Talbotton began

When was Talbotton founded?

1828

The Talbotton post office opened in 1828, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 796 in 18702020 census: 742198 years
Founding year: the first Talbotton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Talbotton’s past

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

Boom and bustPeaked at 1,175 in 1950; 742 people lived here in 2020.A historic districtThe LeVert Historic District takes in 22 historic buildings.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1895 to 1911, drew every building in Talbotton.Landmarks on the Register8 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · People over time

Talbotton, census by census

02004006008001,0001,20018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,175

Peaked at 1,175 in 1950; 742 people lived here in 2020.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

On the National Register

8 listings protect 36 historic buildings

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

places listed
8
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
36
each building in a district counts
first listed
1973
George W. B. Towns House
George W. B. Towns HouseZion Episcopal ChurchLeVert Historic DistrictNewton P. Carreker HouseDavid Shelton HouseTalbot County Courthouse, built 1892Weeks-Kimbrough House, built 1845
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival4
Victorian2
Vernacular1
English Gothic1
Neo-Classical1
Queen Anne1
George W. B. Towns HouseVernacular
Zion Episcopal ChurchEnglish Gothic
LeVert Historic DistrictGreek Revival
Newton P. Carreker HouseVictorian
David Shelton HouseGreek Revival
Talbot County CourthouseQueen Anne · Built 1892
All 8 listings
Weeks-Kimbrough HouseBuilding · listed 1979Frederick A. Bailey HouseBuilding · listed 1980

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

Every building

Talbotton, building by building, 1895–1911

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Talbotton fire insurance map, 1895, sheet 11895Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Talbotton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Talbotton.

Read it all →

Talbotton was founded in 1828 as the seat of the newly formed Talbot County. Both the county and the town were named for Matthew Talbot, 30th Governor of Georgia.

Talbotton may be best known in history as the place where the immigrant Straus family got their start in retail sales in the 19th century. In 1896, the family acquired R. H. Macy & Co. in New York.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Talbotton, 1828 to 1950

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1828Post officeThe Talbotton post office opens
  3. 1835Born hereWilliam P. Edwards is born here
  4. 1837BuiltFrederick A. Bailey House is built
  5. 1845BuiltWeeks-Kimbrough House is built
  6. 1882Born hereEmmett C. Hall is born here
  7. 1892BuiltTalbot County Courthouse is built
  8. 20th century
  9. 1917Born hereWilliam Cobb is born here
  10. 1922In the archiveChapel and Schoolhouse Collinsworth Institute
  11. 1936In the archiveHistoric American Buildings Survey L. D. Andrew, Photographer Oct. 24, 1936 GENERAL VIEW …
  12. 1950Born hereLloyd Neal is born here
  13. 1950On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  14. 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 1,175
By decade

Talbotton, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1920s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s–1930s10 items
Chapel and Schoolhouse Collinsworth Institute1922Chapel and Schoolhouse Collinsworth InstituteHistoric American Buildings Survey L. D. Andrew, Photographer Oct. 24, 1936 GENERAL VIEW - Methodist Church1936Historic American Buildings Survey L. D. Andrew, Phot…Historic American Buildings Survey L. D. Andrew, Photographer Oct. 24, 1936 GENERAL VIEW - Straus Le Vert Memorial Hall…1936Historic American Buildings Survey L. D. Andrew, Phot…Historic American Buildings Survey L. D. Andrew, Photographer Oct. 24, 1936 GENERAL VIEW OF SIDE (Faces West) - Dr. Leo…1936Historic American Buildings Survey L. D. Andrew, Phot…Historic American Buildings Survey L. D. Andrew, Photographer Oct. 24, 1936 VIEW OF ENTRANCE AND BALCONY - Dr. Leonard …1936Historic American Buildings Survey L. D. Andrew, Phot…Historic American Buildings Survey L. D. Andrew, Photographer Oct. 24, 1936 VIEW OF FRONT - Dr. Leonard House, Macon Ro…1936Historic American Buildings Survey L. D. Andrew, Phot…Historic American Buildings Survey L. D. Andrew, Photographer Oct. 24, 1936 VIEW OF FRONT - Episcopal Church1936Historic American Buildings Survey L. D. Andrew, Phot…Historic American Buildings Survey L. D. Andrew, Photographer Oct. 24, 1936 VIEW OF FRONT - Maxwell House1936Historic American Buildings Survey L. D. Andrew, Phot…Historic American Buildings Survey L. D. Andrew, Photographer Oct. 24, 1936 VIEW OF FRONT COLONADE - Hill-Leonard House…1936Historic American Buildings Survey L. D. Andrew, Phot…Historic American Buildings Survey L. D. Andrew, Photographer Oct. 24, 1936 VIEW OF INTERIOR - Methodist Church, Talbot…1936Historic American Buildings Survey L. D. Andrew, Phot…
1940s–1990snothing 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 album
On the map

Talbotton on the map, 1950 to 1985

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

Talbotton on the 1950 USGS mapTalbotton on the 1985 USGS map1950Talbotton 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 Talbotton.

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.

Chapel and Schoolhouse Collinsworth Institute
Retake this viewChapel and Schoolhouse Collinsworth Institute, 1922

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Talbotton’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

9 famous people were born in Talbotton

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

See all →
Lloyd NealAmerican professional basketball player born in… · b. 1950
W
William P. EdwardsAmerican politician · b. 1835
E
Emmett C. HallAmerican screenwriter and actor · b. 1882
W
William CobbAmerican roller coaster designer · b. 1917
Charles Henry JonesAmerican journalist and editor · b. 1848
Elizabeth Evelyn WrightEducator, African American · b. 1872
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Talbotton’s post office has been open since 1828.

Gone or out of use
Le Vert CollegeschoolTalbot County High SchoolschoolWashington Academyschool
1cemetery inside Talbotton
Oak Hill

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

Help out

Finish Talbotton’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.
Retake an old viewChapel and Schoolhouse Collinsworth Ins…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Talbotton’s history

What year was Talbotton founded?

The Talbotton post office opened in 1828, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Talbotton?

8 listings: 7 buildings, among them the George W. B. Towns House (listed 1973, the first), and 1 historic district, the LeVert Historic District, with 22 contributing buildings. 36 historic buildings in all.

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (10), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (8), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.