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History · Aurora

Aurora’s post office opened in 1872

Most of Aurora was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. Below: the census since 1880.

1872first post office
0on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Aurora began

When was Aurora founded?

1872

The Aurora post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 81 in 18802020 census: 455154 years
Founding year: the first Aurora post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Aurora’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 Aurora are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 698 in 1980; 455 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Aurora’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Aurora’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

Aurora, census by census

010020030040050060070018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 698

Peaked at 698 in 1980; 455 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story so far

Aurora, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Aurora yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Aurora is a town in Beaufort County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 455 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1872. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 520 to 455 (-13%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Aurora, 1872 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1872Post officeThe Aurora post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1965Born hereRichard Coffey is born here
  5. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 698
By decade

Aurora, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Aurora, North Carolina 032023Aurora, North Carolina 03Aurora, North Carolina 022023Aurora, North Carolina 02Aurora, North Carolina 012023Aurora, North Carolina 01Aurora Phosphate Mine crossing2023Aurora Phosphate Mine crossing

Questions about Aurora’s history

What year was Aurora founded?

The Aurora post office opened in 1872, 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 Wikimedia Commons (4), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.