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History · Atkinson

Atkinson’s post office opened in 1890, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: the census since 1910.

1890first post office

0on the National Register

22%homes built before 1940

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Quick answers

How Atkinson began

When was Atkinson founded?

1890

The Atkinson post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 115 in 19102020 census: 296136 years

Founding year: the first Atkinson post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Atkinson’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 Atkinson are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Atkinson’s homes were built before 1959.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Atkinson’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

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The story

How Atkinson came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Atkinson.

Read it all →

The name "Atkinson" first appeared on a Pender County Deed in 1890, however the Town of Atkinson was not incorporated until 1909. The town was founded by a man named William Hezekiah Lewis who used 100 acres deeded to him by his mother to start the town. The engineer named Roger P. Atkinson is the person who laid out the town squares and building lots and the town’s name after him. The Town Map was drawn out in 1890 and recorded in 1902

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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.

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People over time

Atkinson, census by census

Between 115 and 331 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Atkinson

Nobody well known was born in Atkinson itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →

M. L. CarrAmerican basketball player and coach · b. 1951

Javonte WilliamsAmerican football running back · b. 2000

Samm-Art WilliamsAmerican playwright and screenwriter · b. 1946

John Baptista AsheAmerican politician · b. 1748

William Shepperd AsheAmerican politician · b. 1814

Minnie EvansAfrican American artist · b. 1892

Questions about Atkinson’s history

What year was Atkinson founded?

The Atkinson post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →

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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 Wikipedia, 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.

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