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A−History
History · Belmont

Belmont dates to 1866, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 84% of U.S. towns · #36 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it

5 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 278 buildings between them. Below: maps from 1922 on and the census since 1900.

1866founded
5on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
9famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Belmont began

When was Belmont founded?

1866

Belmont dates its founding to 1866 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 145 in 19002020 census: 15,010160 years

How historic is Belmont?

A−

More historic than 84% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1831.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Belmont’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Belmont is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #36 of 290 in North Carolina. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Belmont’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194012.6% of homes (±3.0) · typical NC town 4.1% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register5 listings, 281 historic buildings, 181 per 10,000 residents · typical NC town 12.5 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 84%
NewerOlder
North Carolina towns of 2,500+ (290)Ahead of 88%

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 Belmont’s 181 sits above most of its state (83% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 281 historic buildings outnumber those of 95% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.0 points). Two sources give 1866.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Belmont’s past

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

A historic districtThe Belmont Historic District takes in 264 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Belmont are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Belmont, and 1 old place names are still on the map.Landmarks on the Register5 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

5 listings protect 281 historic buildings

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

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
281
each building in a district counts
first listed
1973
Belmont Abbey Cathedral
Belmont Abbey Cathedral, built 1876Belmont Abbey Historic DistrictUS Post Office, FormerBelmont Historic DistrictBelmont Hosiery Mill
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Gothic Revival2
Colonial Revival2
American Benedictine1
Tudor Revival1
Bungalow/Craftsman1
Art Moderne1
Belmont Abbey CathedralGothic Revival · Built 1876
Belmont Abbey Historic DistrictGothic Revival
US Post Office, FormerColonial Revival
All 5 listings
Belmont Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1996Belmont Hosiery MillBuilding · listed 2002

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

Help out

Start Belmont’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Belmont’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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Belmont’s post office has been open since 1886. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

South Point
1831–1902
Garibaldi
1874–1886
Belmont
1886–today
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
South Belmont
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Belmont
Belmont AbbeyGreenwoodO'Conner Grove AME Zion Church

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

The story

How Belmont came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Belmont.

Read it all →

Settlement in the Belmont area began around the colonial-era Fort at the Point, built in the 1750s by Dutch settler James Kuykendall, Robert Leeper, and two others near the junction of the South Fork and the Catawba River. The fort was built because of ongoing hostilities with the Cherokee, but it was apparently never attacked.

The South Point Community, located about 2+1⁄2 miles south of present-day downtown Belmont, was the site of Stowesville Mill. Founded by Jasper Stowe and Associates in 1853, it was one of the first three cotton mills in operation in Gaston County.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Belmont, 1806 to 1992

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1806Born hereGreene Washington Caldwell is born here
  3. 1831Post officeThe South Point post office opens
  4. 1866
    FoundingBelmont is established
  5. 1874Post officeThe Garibaldi post office opens
  6. 1876BuiltBelmont Abbey Cathedral is built
  7. 1886Post officeThe Garibaldi post office closes
  8. 1886Post officeThe Belmont post office opens
  9. 20th century
  10. 1902Post officeThe South Point post office closes
  11. 1938Born hereHumpy Wheeler is born here
  12. 1973On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  13. 1980Born hereKoren Robinson is born here
  14. 1992Born hereJeffrey Springs is born here
By decade

Belmont, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Belmont City Hall2022Belmont City HallBank of2022Bank ofP&N Railway Station2021P&N Railway StationOld US Post Office2021Old US Post OfficeGary lee Price Child of Peace at Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden2018Gary lee Price Child of Peace at Daniel Stowe Botanic…Belmont NC HistoricDowntown12007Belmont NC HistoricDowntown1
On the map

Belmont on the map, 1973 to 1993

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

Belmont on the 1973 USGS mapBelmont on the 1993 USGS map1973Belmont 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 Belmont.

Every building

Belmont, building by building, 1922

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.

Belmont fire insurance map, 1922, sheet 11922Sheet 1 of 3
BrickWoodStone

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

People over time

Belmont, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00016,000190019201940196019802000202015,010

Grew from 145 people in 1900 to 15,010 in 2020, more than tenfold.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

9 famous people were born in Belmont

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Jeffrey SpringsAmerican baseball player · b. 1992
K
Koren RobinsonAmerican football player, wide receiver, return… · b. 1980
G
Greene Washington CaldwellAmerican politician · b. 1806
Humpy WheelerAmerican auto racing promoter, manager and cons… · b. 1938
Nick MuseAmerican football player · b. 1998
J
John M. RayfieldAmerican politician · b. 1926
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Mount Holly3 historic placesB+Cramerton1 historic placeC+

Questions about Belmont’s history

What year was Belmont founded?

In 1866, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Belmont’s post office opened in 1831, and the census of 1900 counted 145 people here.

How does Belmont rank for history?

Belmont is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #36 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 Belmont?

5 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Belmont Abbey Cathedral (listed 1973, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Belmont Abbey Historic District and the Belmont Historic District, with 278 contributing buildings. 281 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Belmont?

13% of Belmont’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.0 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 2002.

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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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), 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.