Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 2% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Varnell was built recently: 0.2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1989. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1919 on, and the census since 1880.
The Varnell post office opened in 1929, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Red Hill (1834) and Varnell's Station (1854), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
More historic than 2% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Varnell is more historic than 2% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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 Varnell’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.
Founding year: the first post office (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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Varnell’s history is told.
Varnell’s post office has been open since 1929. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Varnell. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Varnell.
From Wikipedia’s history of Varnell.
The Georgia General Assembly incorporated Varnell in 1968. The community was named after M.P. Varnell, a railroad official.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Georgia - Whitfield County - ED 155-1, ED…
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyOne decade in the archive so far: the 1850s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Varnell’s page.
Retake this view · +15Grew from 99 people in 1880 to 2,179 in 2020, more than tenfold.
7 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Varnell’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Varnell itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Varnell post office opened in 1929, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Varnell is more historic than 2% 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.
0.2% of Varnell’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 1989.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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), Wikipedia, 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.
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