The story
Read it all →How Gates came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Gates.
Gates was established around 1850 and named for Revolutionary War general Horatio Gates. The town was incorporated in 1886.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Gates
Gates dates to 1850
Most of Gates was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1971. Below: maps from 1939 on and the census since 1890.
1850founded
0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Quick answers
How Gates began
When was Gates founded?
1850
Gates dates its founding to 1850 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1890.
First census: 204 in 18902020 census: 664176 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1882.The full story ↓
What stands out about Gates’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Gates’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Gates’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.People over time
Gates, census by census
Lost a third of its people between 1940 and 1950, then more than doubled.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Gates’ Wikipedia page.
Timeline
Gates, 1850 to 2000
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1850FoundingGates is established
- 1882Post officeThe Gates post office opens
- 20th century
- 1927
Born hereGeorge Taliaferro is born here - 1939
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 21st century
- 2000CensusPopulation peaks at 901
By decade
Gates, decade by decade
2018
2018
2018
2018
2018On the map
Gates on the map, 1939 to 1981
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Gates. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1939Halls sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Gates.
Places that used to be
Places now gone and burying grounds
Gates’s post office has been open since 1882.
Gone or out of use
Gates SchoolschoolLillian Fountain Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Gates
GatesRhodes
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Gates’ history
What year was Gates founded?
In 1850, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Gates’ post office opened in 1882, and the census of 1890 counted 204 people here.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 Wikimedia Commons (5), 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.