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B−History
History · Archdale

Archdale dates to 1786, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 46% of U.S. towns · #138 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it

Most of Archdale was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Its Register listing is the Moses Hammond House. Below: maps from 1950 on and the census since 1890.

1786founded
1on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Archdale began

When was Archdale founded?

1786

Archdale dates its founding to 1786 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 224 in 18902020 census: 11,907240 years

How historic is Archdale?

B−

More historic than 46% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1865.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Archdale’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Archdale is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #138 of 290 in North Carolina. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Archdale’s overall grade.
Founding era1786, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19401.5% of homes (±1.3) · typical NC town 4.1% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register1 listing, 2 historic buildings, 1.7 per 10,000 residents · typical NC town 12.5 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 46%
NewerOlder
North Carolina towns of 2,500+ (290)Ahead of 53%

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 Archdale’s 1.7 sits near the middle of its state (40% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1786.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share (±1.3 points) is firm at this size.

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 Archdale’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 Archdale are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1890 and 1910, then grew more than tenfold.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Archdale, and 4 old place names are still on the map.Deep rootsEstablished in 1786: 240 years of Archdale.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Archdale’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Archdale’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

Archdale, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,0001900192019401960198020002020224 in 1890Low: 145

Lost a third of its people between 1890 and 1910, then grew more than tenfold.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Archdale had its own post office from 1887 to 1960. Another post office, Bush Hill, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Bush Hill
1865–1887
Archdale
1887–1960
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
RavenwoodRobins NestRoxanaWestwood

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

The story

How Archdale came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Archdale.

Read it all →

Archdale, previously known as Bush Hill, began as a predominantly Quaker settlement and received the name "Archdale" as a tribute to John Archdale, a lord proprietor and an early Quaker governor. It was incorporated as a city in July 1969. Water and sewer service were needed because the area was "heavy clay". Voters in the area held a referendum, though residents of Trinity decided not to join Archdale.

The Moses Hammond House and Harper House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Jerry W. Tillman (1940–2023), North Carolina legislator, was born in Archdale.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Archdale, 1786 to 2020

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1786
    FoundingArchdale is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1865Post officeThe Bush Hill post office opens
  5. 1887Post officeThe Bush Hill post office closes
  6. 1887Post officeThe Archdale post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1940Born hereJerry W. Tillman is born here
  9. 1950On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1960Post officeThe Archdale post office closes
  11. 21st century
  12. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 11,907
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the map

Archdale on the map, 1950 to 2002

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

Archdale on the 1950 USGS mapArchdale on the 1968 USGS mapArchdale on the 1982 USGS mapArchdale on the 1993 USGS mapArchdale on the 2002 USGS map1950High Point East sheet · 1:24,000

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

On the National Register

1 historic place in Archdale

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1989
Moses Hammond House
Moses Hammond House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Italianate1
Moses Hammond HouseItalianate

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Trinity1 historic placeCHigh Point34 historic placesA

Questions about Archdale’s history

What year was Archdale founded?

In 1786, according to Wikidata. Archdale’s post office opened in 1865, and the census of 1890 counted 224 people here.

How does Archdale rank for history?

Archdale is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #138 of 290 in North Carolina. 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 Archdale?

One place: the Moses Hammond House (listed 1989).

How old are the homes in Archdale?

2% of Archdale’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.3 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1986.

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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.