Dawson County, Georgia
Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.
At a glance
SummaryThe National Register of Historic Places includes 3 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1980. Most listings are in or near Dawsonville.
Summary generated automatically from the source data on this page.
Newspapers
Library of CongressNewspaper directory data for Georgia is not yet loaded on this site. Browse Dawson titles at the Library of Congress.
National Register of Historic Places
NPS NRHP2 of 3 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.
3 listed properties
| Property | City | Listed |
|---|---|---|
| Dawson County Courthouse | Dawsonville | 1980 |
| Dawson Couty Jail | Dawsonville | 1985 |
| Gilleland, Boyd and Sallie, House | Dawsonville | 2009 |
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.
County formation
Newberry AHCBDawson was formed in 1858 (1858-02-01) from Gilmer, Lumpkin.
DAWSON created from GILMER and LUMPKIN. Act passed 3 Dec 1857; took effect 1 Fe 1858. On 22 Dec 1857 legislation authorized DAWSON to gain from PICKENS (lots 477, 478, 479) though DAWSON creation not yet effective [no evidence PICKENS change took place].
Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
Population by decade
CensusDawson County population from 1860 to 2020 (Census historical series).
| 1860 | 1880 | 1900 | 1920 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3,856 | 5,837 | 5,442 | 4,204 | 4,479 | 3,712 | 3,590 | 4,774 | 15,999 | 26,798 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.
Cemeteries & historical places
USGS GNIS7 cemeteries and 1 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.
Cemeteries — 7 of 7 listed
| Name |
|---|
| Byrd Family Cemetery |
| High Shoals Cemetery |
| Martin Cemetery |
| New Hope Baptist Church Cemetery |
| Palmer Cemetery |
| Salem Methodist Cemetery |
| Spriggs Summerour Cemetery |
Historical populated places — 1 of 1
| Name |
|---|
| Johntown |
Source: USGS Geographic Names Information System (public domain). Cemeteries from the 2021 NationalFile archive; historical places from GNIS HistoricalFeatures topical extract.
Historical markers
HMdb linkMarker text and photos from the Historical Marker Database (HMdb) are not embedded here. HMdb allows non-commercial reuse with attribution, but commercial/compensated use needs written permission; this is a commercial site, so we only link out.
Search HMdb for Dawson County, Georgia
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