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B−History
History · Vidalia

Vidalia’s post office opened in 1890, and 6 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 48% of U.S. towns · #114 of 263 in Georgia. What drives it

Most of Vidalia was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. 6 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 69 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1913 on, and the census since 1900.

1890first post office
6on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
9famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Vidalia’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Vidalia began

When was Vidalia founded?

1890

The Vidalia post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 503 in 19002020 census: 10,785136 years

How historic is Vidalia?

B−

More historic than 48% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Vidalia post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Vidalia’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Vidalia is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #114 of 263 in Georgia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Vidalia’s overall grade.
Founding era1890, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19405.0% of homes (±3.1) · typical GA town 3.8% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register6 listings, 81 historic buildings, 75.3 per 10,000 residents · typical GA town 10.0 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 48%
NewerOlder
Georgia towns of 2,500+ (263)Ahead of 57%

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 Vidalia’s 75.3 sits above most of its state (68% of Georgia towns have fewer) while its 81 historic buildings outnumber those of 88% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

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 →

What stands out about Vidalia’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Vidalia Commercial Historic District takes in 69 historic buildings.Landmarks on the Register6 places on the National Register.Famous sons and daughtersMel Blount, Fred Stokes and 7 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Vidalia’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Vidalia’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBank Note, April 15, 1862: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

6 listings protect 81 historic buildings

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

places listed
6
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
81
each building in a district counts
first listed
1982
Crawford W. Brazell House
Crawford W. Brazell HouseMcLemore-Sharpe FarmsteadPeterson-Wilbanks HouseCitizens Bank of VidaliaLeader-Rosansky HouseVidalia Commercial Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Classical Revival3
Neo-Classical1
Decorated Vernacular Victorian1
Queen Anne1
Commercial1
Commercial Victorian Vernacular1
Crawford W. Brazell HouseNeo-Classical
McLemore-Sharpe FarmsteadBuilding
Peterson-Wilbanks HouseClassical Revival
Citizens Bank of VidaliaDecorated Vernacular Victorian
Leader-Rosansky HouseQueen Anne
Vidalia Commercial Historic DistrictCommercial

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

The story so far

Vidalia, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Vidalia yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Vidalia ( vye-DAYL-yə, locally -⁠DAY-yə) is a city located primarily in Toombs County, Georgia, United States. The city also extends very slightly into Montgomery County. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 10,785. Vidalia is the principal city of the Vidalia Micropolitan Statistical Area, a micropolitan area that covers Montgomery and Toombs counties, and had a combined population of 35,640 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1890. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 10,473 to 10,785 (+3%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Vidalia, 1862 to 1970

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1862In the archiveBank Note, April 15, 1862
  3. 1890Post officeThe Vidalia post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1933In the archiveEAST SIDE FROM SOUTHEAST - Riddle-Jackson House, 608 Jackson Street
  6. 1936Born hereDon Harris is born here
  7. 1948Born hereMel Blount is born here
  8. 1964Born hereFred Stokes is born here
  9. 1970Born hereCarl Simpson is born here
  10. 1970On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Vidalia, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s1 item
Bank Note, April 15, 18621862Bank Note, April 15, 1862
1930s1 item
EAST SIDE FROM SOUTHEAST - Riddle-Jackson House, 608 Jackson Street1933EAST SIDE FROM SOUTHEAST - Riddle-Jackson House, 608 …
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
Today4 recent
20100119 0579VidaliaGA201020100119 0579VidaliaGAVidalia-GA2005Vidalia-GAGAMap-doton-Vidalia2005GAMap-doton-VidaliaGeorgia Central Vidalia 05-14-04 2022004Georgia Central Vidalia 05-14-04 202
On the map

Vidalia on the map in 1970

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Vidalia.

Vidalia on the 1970 USGS map1970Vidalia 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 Vidalia.

Every building

Vidalia, building by building, 1913

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 sheet.

Vidalia fire insurance map, 1913, sheet 11913Sheet 1 of 3
BrickWoodStone

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

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.

Bank Note, April 15, 1862
Retake this viewBank Note, April 15, 1862, 1862

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Vidalia, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 11,078

Between 503 and 11,078 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

9 famous people were born in Vidalia

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

See all →
Mel BlountAmerican professional football player · b. 1948
Fred StokesAmerican football player · b. 1964
D
Don HarrisAmerican journalist · b. 1936
C
Carl SimpsonAmerican football player · b. 1970
James T. McIntyreDirector of the Office of Management and Budget · b. 1940
M
Masey McLainAmerican actor · b. 1994
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Vidalia’s post office has been open since 1890.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Charles
Gone or out of use
Vidalia Army Air Fieldmilitary
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Vidalia
East ParkPine CrestWilks

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Lyons2 historic placesC+

Questions about Vidalia’s history

What year was Vidalia founded?

The Vidalia post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Vidalia rank for history?

Vidalia is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #114 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.

What is on the National Register in Vidalia?

6 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Crawford W. Brazell House (listed 1982, the first), and 1 historic district, the Vidalia Commercial Historic District, with 69 contributing buildings. 81 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Vidalia?

5% of Vidalia’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.1 points), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 1979.

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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (6), 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.