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History · Bear Grass

16% of Bear Grass’ homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 8 buildings. Below: maps from 1901 on and the census since 1910.

2on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Bear Grass’ 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 Bear Grass are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 131 in 1930; 89 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Bear Grass’ homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bear Grass’s collection

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

Bear Grass, census by census

0100192019401960198020002020Peak: 131

Peaked at 131 in 1930; 89 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Bear Grass came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bear Grass.

Read it all →

The town of Bear Grass, located in the southern part of Martin County, was named for a type of yucca (Yucca flaccida) that grows less than two feet in height and is found abundantly in the region. One of the first settlers to the area was John Swinson, who received a large tract of land from the Earl of Granville, the last Lord Proprietor, in 1761. Bear Grass Swamp was a part of this property and was mentioned in Swinson's deed. Many of the early settlers were farmers whose principal crops of cotton and corn were sold in towns along the Tar and Roanoke rivers. Sheep, cattle, and hogs were also raised in large numbers, and farmers often supplemented their income with shingle making, woodcrafts, and the production of tar and turpentine from the area's abundant forests.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bear Grass, 1901 to 1946

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1901On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 131
  4. 1946Born hereDonnie Harrison is born here
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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On the map

Bear Grass on the map, 1901 to 1981

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

Bear Grass on the 1901 USGS mapBear Grass on the 1981 USGS map1901Wiillamston 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 Bear Grass.

On the National Register

2 listings protect 9 historic buildings

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
9
each building in a district counts
first listed
2005
Bear Grass Primitive Baptist Church
Bear Grass Primitive Baptist ChurchBear Grass School
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Front-gable Church1
Colonial Revival1
Modern Movement1
All 2 listings
Bear Grass Primitive Baptist ChurchBuilding · listed 2005Bear Grass SchoolDistrict · listed 2005

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

Questions about Bear Grass’ history

What is on the National Register in Bear Grass?

Two places: the Bear Grass Primitive Baptist Church (listed 2005) and the Bear Grass School (2005).

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 the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.