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A−History
History · Andrews

Andrews dates to 1837, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 80% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Walker's Inn, the Franklin Pierce Cover House and the First Baptist Church. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1916 on, and the census since 1910.

1837founded
3on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Andrews’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Andrews began

When was Andrews founded?

1837

Andrews dates its founding to 1837 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 936 in 19102020 census: 1,667189 years

How historic is Andrews?

A−

More historic than 80% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1846.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Andrews’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Andrews is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Andrews’ overall grade.
Founding era1837, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194015.7% of homes (±4.9) · typical NC town 4.1% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register3 listings, 7 historic buildings, 35.0 per 10,000 residents · typical NC town 12.5 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 80%
NewerOlder

North Carolina towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical North Carolina town has 12.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Andrews’ 35.0 sits above most of its state (66% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 7 historic buildings outnumber those of 73% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1837.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.9 points).

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Andrews’ past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 2,551 in 1990; 1,667 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsEstablished in 1837: 189 years of Andrews.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Andrews’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewAndrews Elementary School (Circa 1979): stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Andrews, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,500192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,551

Peaked at 2,551 in 1990; 1,667 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Timeline

Andrews, 1837 to 1990

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1837
    FoundingAndrews is established
  3. 1846Post officeThe Valley Town post office opens
  4. 1890Post officeThe Andrews post office opens
  5. 1891Post officeThe Valley Town post office closes
  6. 20th century
  7. 1923BuiltFirst Baptist Church is built
  8. 1974Born hereMatthew Vollmer is born here
  9. 1979In the archiveAndrews Elementary School (Circa 1979)
  10. 1990CensusPopulation peaks at 2,551
The story

How Andrews came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Andrews.

Read it all →

Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the Valley River was inhabited by Muscogee people. They constructed platform mounds in the centers of their towns. At least 14 existed within the limits. By the beginning of the 18th century, the Cherokee had pushed the Muscogee out and taken over their townsites. Many of the towns retained their original names.

Andrews was the site of two substantial Cherokee sister towns, Tomotla and Konohete. The meaning of Tomotla is lost. Konehete or Gu'nahitun'ya on the other hand, can be translated to mean "Long Place" or "Long Valley." The remains of the Andrews Mound survived until 1975, when the land owner bulldozed the structure after it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

ChaptersEstablishmentLate 20th century to present

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Andrews, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1970s3 items
Andrews Elementary School (Circa 1979)1979Andrews Elementary School (Circa 1979)Baker Furniture Factory (1979)1979Baker Furniture Factory (1979)Berkshire-HD Lee-IOI Building1979Berkshire-HD Lee-IOI Building
1980s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today9 recent
Cozad-Cover House2019Cozad-Cover HouseChestnut Street2019Chestnut StreetChestnut Street2019Chestnut StreetChestnut Street2019Chestnut StreetChestnut Street2019Chestnut StreetChestnut Street2019Chestnut StreetBlue Ridge Mountains in southwest North Carolina2019Blue Ridge Mountains in southwest North CarolinaA-1. Main Street2011A-1. Main StreetNCMap-doton-Andrews2004NCMap-doton-Andrews
Every building

Andrews, building by building, 1916

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Andrews fire insurance map, 1916, sheet 11916Sheet 1 of 4
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Andrews Elementary School (Circa 1979)
Retake this viewAndrews Elementary School (Circa 1979), 1979

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Andrews’ page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Andrews

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
7
each building in a district counts
first listed
1975
Walker's Inn
Walker's InnFranklin Pierce Cover HouseFirst Baptist Church, built 1923
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Queen Anne1
Classical Revival1
Walker's InnBuilding
Franklin Pierce Cover HouseQueen Anne
First Baptist ChurchClassical Revival · Built 1923

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Andrews’s post office has been open since 1890. Another post office, Valley Town, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Valley Town
1846–1891
Andrews
1890–today
18401930today
1cemetery inside Andrews
Valleytown

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

Questions about Andrews’ history

What year was Andrews founded?

In 1837, according to Wikidata. Andrews’ post office opened in 1846, and the census of 1910 counted 936 people here.

How does Andrews rank for history?

Andrews is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Andrews?

Three places: the Walker's Inn (listed 1975), the Franklin Pierce Cover House (1982) and the First Baptist Church (2002).

How old are the homes in Andrews?

16% of Andrews’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.9 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1985.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (12), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.