More historic than 94% of U.S. towns · #5 of 263 in Georgia. What drives it
3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 429 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1850.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Waynesboro is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #5 of 263 in Georgia. All 2 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 Waynesboro’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 Waynesboro’s 764 sits above most of its state (94% of Georgia towns have fewer) while its 431 historic buildings outnumber those of 97% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.6 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Waynesboro’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
In 1779, during the Revolutionary War, Burke Jail was the scene of a battle between the British (led by Thomas Brown and Daniel McGirt) and the victorious Americans (John Twiggs and William Few).
Although European Americans lived in the area before the Revolutionary War, the town was not laid out until 1783. The city was officially incorporated in 1883 as Waynesborough. The name was changed to Waynesboro sometime after. It developed as the trading and government center of the county, and is the site of the county courthouse and jail.
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.
Waynesboro’s post office has been open since 1794.
Gone or out of use
Wesleyan Methodist Churchchurch
1cemetery inside Waynesboro
Waynesboro Confederate Memorial
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Waynesboro’s history
How does Waynesboro rank for history?
Waynesboro is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #5 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 Waynesboro?
Three places: the John James Jones House (listed 1980), the Burke County Courthouse (1980) and the Waynesboro Historic District (2009).
How old are the homes in Waynesboro?
19% of Waynesboro’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.6 points), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 1966.
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 National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.
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