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History · Atlanta

Atlanta’s post office opened in 1885, and 37% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1889 on and the census since 1910.

1885first post office
0on the National Register
37%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Atlanta began

When was Atlanta founded?

1885

The Atlanta post office opened in 1885, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Baltimore (1873), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 330 in 19102020 census: 168141 years
Founding year: the first Atlanta post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Atlanta’s 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 Atlanta are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18893 editions of the USGS map, 1889 to 1985. Watch Atlanta change.Old housesHalf of Atlanta’s homes were built before 1956.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Atlanta’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Atlanta on the map, 1889 to 1985

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

Atlanta on the 1889 USGS mapAtlanta on the 1964 USGS mapAtlanta on the 1985 USGS map1889Burden 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 Atlanta.

The story

How Atlanta came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Atlanta.

Read it all →

Atlanta was founded in 1885. The first post office in Atlanta was established on August 14, 1885.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Atlanta, 1873 to 1889

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873Post officeThe Baltimore post office opens
  3. 1885Post officeThe Baltimore post office closes
  4. 1885Post officeThe Atlanta post office opens
  5. 1889On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Atlanta, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Map of Cowley Co, Ks, USA2005Map of Cowley Co, Ks, USAMap
People over time

Atlanta, census by census

0100200300400192019401960198020002020Peak: 379

Between 168 and 379 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Atlanta’s post office has been open since 1885. Another post office, Baltimore, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Baltimore
1873–1885
Atlanta
1885–today
18701950today

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

Questions about Atlanta’s history

What year was Atlanta founded?

The Atlanta post office opened in 1885, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikipedia, 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.