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History · Young Harris

Young Harris’ post office opened in 1891, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Young Harris was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2001. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 2 buildings. Below: maps from 1935 on and the census since 1900.

1891first post office
1on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Young Harris began

When was Young Harris founded?

1891

The Young Harris post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Mc Tyeire (1887), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 342 in 19002020 census: 1,098135 years
Founding year: the first Young Harris post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Young Harris’ past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Young Harris are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Young Harris’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Young Harris came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Young Harris.

Read it all →

Young Harris was originally named "McTyeire", after Bishop Holland McTyeire. It was later renamed to honor Judge Young Harris, the benefactor of McTyeire Institute (which was also renamed Young Harris College).

The college was founded in 1886. Sharp Memorial United Methodist Church on Main Street at the entrance to the college was built on January 9, 1949, as a new home for the congregation that had occupied Susan B. Harris Chapel, built in 1892.

Main Street through Young Harris to Hiawassee and Blairsville was paved in 1927.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Young Harris, 1887 to 1935

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1887Post officeThe Mc Tyeire post office opens
  3. 1891Post officeThe Mc Tyeire post office closes
  4. 1891Post officeThe Young Harris post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1932Born hereZell Miller is born here
  7. 1933Born hereEd Jenkins is born here
  8. 1935On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Young Harris on the map, 1935 to 1988

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

Young Harris on the 1935 USGS mapYoung Harris on the 1941 USGS mapYoung Harris on the 1966 USGS mapYoung Harris on the 1988 USGS map1935Hiawassee 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 Young Harris.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Young Harris

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1983
Young Harris College Historic District
Young Harris College Historic District
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Vernacular1
Young Harris College Historic DistrictVernacular

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

People over time

Young Harris, census by census

02004006008001,0001,20019001920194019601980200020201,098

Grew from 342 people in 1900 to 1,098 in 2020, 3 times over.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Young Harris

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

See all →
Zell MillerAmerican politician · b. 1932
Ed JenkinsUS politician, Democratic congressman from Geor… · b. 1933
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Young Harris’s post office has been open since 1891. Another post office, Mc Tyeire, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Mc Tyeire
1887–1891
Young Harris
1891–today
18801950today

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

Questions about Young Harris’ history

What year was Young Harris founded?

The Young Harris post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Young Harris?

One place: the Young Harris College Historic District (listed 1983).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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) 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.