Washington dates to 1774, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 95% of U.S. towns · #3 of 263 in Georgia. What drives it
19 places in town are on the National Register, among them 2 National Historic Landmarks and five historic districts with 553 buildings between them. Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1810.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1792.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Washington’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Washington is more historic than 95% of U.S. towns, #3 of 263 in Georgia. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Washington’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 Washington’s 1,549 sits above most of its state (99% of Georgia towns have fewer) while its 570 historic buildings outnumber those of 98% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1774.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.4 points).
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 Washington’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. 2 are National Historic Landmarks, the highest tier. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.
Heard's Fort was established in 1774 by colonist Stephen Heard. The settlement served as the temporary capital of the new state of Georgia from February 3, 1780, until early 1781.
The Battle of Kettle Creek, one of the most important battles of the American Revolutionary War to be fought in Georgia, was fought on February 14, 1779, in Wilkes County, about eleven miles (18 km) from present-day Washington. The American Patriots were victorious, taking 75 prisoners and killing roughly 70 Loyalists, while losing 32 of their own men.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Washington. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1906Crawfordville 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 Washington.
Every building
Washington, building by building, 1885–1917
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.
1885Sheet 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.
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.
Retake this viewThe Cedars (1902), 1902
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Washington’s page.
Washington’s post office has been open since 1792.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Lincoln HeightsWashington Heights
Gone or out of use
Popes Chapel African Methodist Episcopal ChurchchurchSaint James Methodist ChurchchurchWashington AcademyschoolWashington General HospitalhospitalWashington Public Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Washington
Resthaven
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Finish Washington’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.
In 1774, according to Wikidata. Washington’s post office opened in 1792, and the census of 1810 counted 596 people here.
How does Washington rank for history?
Washington is more historic than 95% of U.S. towns, #3 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 Washington?
19 listings, 2 of them National Historic Landmarks: 15 buildings, among them the Robert Toombs House (a National Historic Landmark since 1973) and the Washington-Wilkes Historical Museum (listed 1970, the first), and 5 historic districts with 553 contributing buildings. 570 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Washington?
14% of Washington’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.4 points), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 1972.
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 (9), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (20), 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.
★ Landmark
★ Landmark
1903
1903
1933
1933
1934
1934
1934
