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A−History
History · Waycross

Waycross dates to 1820, and 6 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 80% of U.S. towns · #35 of 263 in Georgia. What drives it

Most of Waycross was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1969. 6 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 284 buildings between them. Below: 8 old photos and papers, maps from 1889 on, and the census since 1880.

1820founded
6on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
8old photos & papers
22famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Waycross’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Waycross began

When was Waycross founded?

1820

Waycross dates its founding to 1820 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 628 in 18802020 census: 13,942206 years

How historic is Waycross?

A−

More historic than 80% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1859.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Waycross’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Waycross is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #35 of 263 in Georgia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Waycross’ overall grade.
Founding era1820, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19408.2% of homes (±2.8) · typical GA town 3.8% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register6 listings, 288 historic buildings, 209 per 10,000 residents · typical GA town 10.0 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 80%
NewerOlder
Georgia towns of 2,500+ (263)Ahead of 87%

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 Waycross’ 209 sits above most of its state (80% of Georgia towns have fewer) while its 288 historic buildings outnumber those of 95% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1820.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share (±2.8 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 Waycross’ past

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

A historic districtThe Waycross Historic District takes in 237 historic buildings.Mapped building by building7 fire insurance maps, 1889 to 1922, drew every building in Waycross.Boom and bustPeaked at 20,944 in 1960; 13,942 people lived here in 2020.Landmarks on the Register6 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

6 listings protect 288 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
288
each building in a district counts
first listed
1976
Waycross Historic District
Waycross Historic DistrictU.S. Post Office and CourthousePhoenix HotelDowntown Waycross Historic DistrictFirst African Baptist Church and ParsonageLott Cemetery
BuildingsDistrictsSites

Architectural styles listings

Shingle Style1
Victorian1
Bungalow1
Classical1
Renaissance Revival1
Spanish Revival1
Waycross Historic DistrictShingle Style
U.S. Post Office and CourthouseRenaissance Revival
Phoenix HotelSpanish Revival
Downtown Waycross Historic DistrictItalianate
First African Baptist Church and ParsonageGothic Revival
Lott CemeterySite

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

Every building

Waycross, building by building, 1889–1922

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.

Waycross fire insurance map, 1889, sheet 11889Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

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

People over time

Waycross, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 20,944

Peaked at 20,944 in 1960; 13,942 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Waycross came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Waycross.

Read it all →

Waycross includes two historic districts (Downtown Waycross Historic District and Waycross Historic District) and several other properties that are on the National Register of Historic Places, including the U.S. Post Office and Courthouse, Lott Cemetery, the First African Baptist Church and Parsonage, and the Obediah Barber Homestead (which is seven miles south of the city).

The area now known as Waycross was first settled c. 1820, locally known as "Old Nine" or "Number Nine" and then Pendleton. It was renamed Tebeauville in 1857, incorporated under that name in 1866, and designated county seat of Ware County in 1873. It was incorporated as "Way Cross" on March 3, 1874.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Waycross, 1820 to 1999

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1820
    FoundingWaycross is established
  3. 1859Post officeThe Tebeauville post office opens
  4. 1874Post officeThe Waycross post office opens
  5. 1882Post officeThe Tebeauville post office closes
  6. 1896In the archiveGreetings from Waycross, GA
  7. 20th century
  8. 1903Born hereCaroline Pafford Miller is born here
  9. 1906In the archiveAtlantic Coast Line shops
  10. 1917In the archiveRecruiting and Draft Service - Types of Recruits and Draftees [165-WW-483A-32]
  11. 1928Born herePernell Roberts is born here
  12. 1930In the archiveGeorgia
  13. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 20,944
  14. 1967On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  15. 1979Born hereNikki DeLoach is born here
  16. 1999Born hereErnest Jones is born here
By decade

Waycross, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s–1930s8 items
Greetings from Waycross, GA1896Greetings from Waycross, GAAtlantic Coast Line shops1906Atlantic Coast Line shopsPostcardRecruiting and Draft Service - Types of Recruits and Draftees [165-WW-483A-32]1917Recruiting and Draft Service - Types of Recruits and …Georgia1930GeorgiaYoung pine timber (longleaf). Typical of better stands on area of Coastal Flatwoods agricultural demonstration project.…1936Young pine timber (longleaf). Typical of better stand…Marsh area on edge of Okefenokee Swamp, part of purchase area of Coastal Flatwoods upland game conservation project. Ne…1936Marsh area on edge of Okefenokee Swamp, part of purch…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Marsh area on edge of Okefenokee Swamp, part of purchase area of Coastal Flatwoods…1936Untitled photo, possibly related to: Marsh area on ed…Turpentine dipper near Waycross, Georgia1937Turpentine dipper near Waycross, Georgia
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
Today9 recent
Greetings from Waycross, Georgia - Large Letter Postcard2013Greetings from Waycross, Georgia - Large Letter Postc…DocumentGreetings from Waycross, Georgia - Large Letter Postcard2013Greetings from Waycross, Georgia - Large Letter Postc…DocumentGreetings from2011Greetings fromPostcardGreetings from2011Greetings fromPostcardElizabeth Street, Waycross, Ga2011Elizabeth Street, Waycross, GaPostcardAtlantic Coast Railroad Y.M.C.A., Waycross, Ga2011Atlantic Coast Railroad Y.M.C.A., Waycross, GaPostcardAerial View, Waycross, Ga2011Aerial View, Waycross, GaPostcard2010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map for20102010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map forBookGAMap-doton-Waycross2005GAMap-doton-Waycross
On the map

Waycross on the map, 1967 to 1978

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

Waycross on the 1967 USGS mapWaycross on the 1978 USGS map1967Waycross East 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 Waycross.

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.

Greetings from Waycross, GA
Retake this viewGreetings from Waycross, GA, 1896

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

22 famous people were born in Waycross

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

See all →
Nikki DeLoachAmerican actress and singer · b. 1979
Pernell RobertsAmerican actor and singer · b. 1928
C
Caroline Pafford MillerAmerican writer · b. 1903
Ernest JonesAmerican football linebacker · b. 1999
Debra Ann LivingstonAmerican judge · b. 1959
S
Sonora Webster CarverAmerican entertainer · b. 1904
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Waycross’s post office has been open since 1874. Another post office, Tebeauville, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Tebeauville
1859–1882
Waycross
1874–today
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Garlington Heights Housing Project
Gone or out of use
Quarterman Street Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Waycross
Hazzard HillLottOakland

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

Help out

Finish Waycross’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewGreetings from Waycross, GA: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

SunnysideIts storyD−DeenwoodIts storyD

Questions about Waycross’ history

What year was Waycross founded?

In 1820, according to Wikidata. Waycross’ post office opened in 1859, and the census of 1880 counted 628 people here.

How does Waycross rank for history?

Waycross is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #35 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 Waycross?

6 listings: 3 buildings, 2 historic districts, the Waycross Historic District and the Downtown Waycross Historic District, with 284 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 288 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Waycross?

8% of Waycross’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.8 points), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 1969.

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 (12), the Library of Congress (5), the National Register of Historic Places (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), 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.