Most of Tunnel Hill was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1971. Its Register listing is the Western and Atlantic Railroad Tunnel at Tunnel Hill.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1840.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Tunnel Hill’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Tunnel Hill is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Tunnel Hill’s 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 Tunnel Hill’s 10.6 sits near the middle of its state (55% of Georgia towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1848.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share (±2.4 points) is firm at this size.
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 Tunnel Hill’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The community was first known as Doe Run. It was incorporated on March 4, 1848, as Tunnelsville, and changed its name in 1856 to Tunnel Hill. Both names refer to the nearby 1,497-foot (456 m) Chetoogeta Mountain Tunnel railroad tunnel cut through Chetoogeta Mountain, officially dedicated on October 31, 1849, by Etowah steel-maker Mark A. Cooper on behalf of the state-owned Western & Atlantic Railroad.
The Georgia General Assembly incorporated Tunnel Hill as a town in 1856.
In 1848, according to Wikidata. Tunnel Hill’s post office opened in 1840.
How does Tunnel Hill rank for history?
Tunnel Hill is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns. 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 Tunnel Hill?
One place: the Western and Atlantic Railroad Tunnel at Tunnel Hill (listed 2002).
How old are the homes in Tunnel Hill?
3% of Tunnel Hill’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 1971.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
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