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History · Caswell

Caswell dates to 1879, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1934 on and the census since 1890.

1879founded
0on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Caswell began

When was Caswell founded?

1879

Caswell dates its founding to 1879 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 212 in 18902020 census: 293147 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1878.The full story ↓

What stands out about Caswell’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 Caswell are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 853 in 1960; 293 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Caswell’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Caswell’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
People over time

Caswell, census by census

02004006008001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 853

Peaked at 853 in 1960; 293 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

The story

How Caswell came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Caswell.

Read it all →

The town was first organized on April 14, 1879, as Pleasant Ridge Plantation, before being reorganized and renamed after the towns first settler R.S. Caswell. It has suffered a large decline in population since its peak, largely due to the closure of the nearby Loring Air Force Base in 1994.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Caswell, 1878 to 1960

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1878Post officeThe Pleasant Ridge post office opens
  3. 1879
    FoundingCaswell is established
  4. 1880Post officeThe Pleasant Ridge post office closes
  5. 1880Post officeThe Caswell post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1908Post officeThe Caswell post office closes
  8. 1934On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 853
By decade

Caswell, decade by decade

Today1 recent
MEMap-location-of-Caswell2017MEMap-location-of-Caswell
On the map

Caswell on the map, 1934 to 1951

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

Caswell on the 1934 USGS mapCaswell on the 1951 USGS map1934Van Buren sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Caswell.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Caswell had its own post office from 1880 to 1908. Another post office, Pleasant Ridge, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Pleasant Ridge
1878–1880
Caswell
1880–1908
18701950today
Gone or out of use
Caswell Air Force Stationmilitary
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Caswell
CaldwellHoughtonHowland Family

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.

Limestone2 historic placesB−Hamlin1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Caswell’s history

What year was Caswell founded?

In 1879, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Caswell’s post office opened in 1878, and the census of 1890 counted 212 people here.

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 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.