Americus is a city in Sumter County, Georgia, and the county seat. It was named after its founder, General John Americus Smith, who discovered the area on a scouting trip and decided to come back later to settle the area. The plantation he built in 1825 succeeded in cotton production and attracted other settlers who formed a community. In 1833, Americus received its first post office and was a courthouse town the first two decades. A railroad was extended to Americus in 1854, and the city built an electric streetcar system in 1890. The city has an abundance of antebellum and Victorian architecture, including the Windsor Hotel which opened in 1892; the hotel includes amongst its famous guests Vice President Thomas R. Marshall and New York Governor (and later President) Franklin D. Roosevelt.