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History · Tignall

Tignall’s post office opened in 1889, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1906 on and the census since 1910.

1889first post office
0on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Tignall began, and where its name came from

When was Tignall founded?

1889

The Tignall post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Signall (1889), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 320 in 19102020 census: 485137 years

How did Tignall get its name?

Tignall was named for Tignall Livingston Moss, a lieutenant in the Confederate army who was killed in battle in 1862.

Founding year: the first Tignall post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Tignall’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 Tignall are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 756 in 1970; 485 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19063 editions of the USGS map, 1906 to 1980. Watch Tignall change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Tignall’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Tignall’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

Tignall, census by census

0200400600800192019401960198020002020Peak: 756

Peaked at 756 in 1970; 485 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

On the map

Tignall on the map, 1906 to 1980

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

Tignall on the 1906 USGS mapTignall on the 1955 USGS mapTignall on the 1980 USGS map1906Crawfordville sheet · 1:125,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Tignall.

The story

How Tignall came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Tignall.

Read it all →

The Georgia General Assembly incorporated Tignall as a town in 1907. It was named for Tignall Livingston Moss, a lieutenant in the Confederate army who was killed in battle in 1862.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Tignall, 1889 to 1970

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1889Post officeThe Signall post office opens
  3. 1889Post officeThe Signall post office closes
  4. 1889Post officeThe Tignall post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1906Born hereJames E. Boyd is born here
  7. 1906On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1941Born hereBobby L. Hill is born here
  9. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 756
By decade

Tignall, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Tignall-water-tower-ga2020Tignall-water-tower-gaTignall-post-office-ga2020Tignall-post-office-gaTignall-library-ga2020Tignall-library-gaTignall-Hulin-Ave-ga2020Tignall-Hulin-Ave-gaTignall-Hulin-17-ga2020Tignall-Hulin-17-gaTignall-City-Hall-ga2020Tignall-City-Hall-ga
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Tignall

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

See all →
James E. BoydAmerican physicist and administrator · b. 1906
B
Bobby L. HillAmerican politician · b. 1941
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Tignall’s post office has been open since 1889. Another post office, Signall, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Signall
1889–1889
Tignall
1889–today
18801950today
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Tignall
IndependencePole Branch BaptistTignall

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

Questions about Tignall’s history

What year was Tignall founded?

The Tignall post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (6), 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.