Most of Broadway was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: maps from 1977 on and the census since 1910.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1878.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Broadway’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Broadway is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Broadway’s overall grade.
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 Broadway’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (19% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C−. The pre-1940 share (±2.8 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1870.
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 Broadway’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
According to the book, Broadway North Carolina: 1870-1970, Broadway was settled in 1870 and incorporated as a town in 1907. The name "Broadway" comes from a broad level opening in the region's vast pine forest where the town was established. Among the early settlers of the area which is now Broadway were Hugh Matthews, Grisham Thomas, Tilmon Thomas, M.M. Watson, and Captain J.O.A. Kelly. African American families that settled in the area included the Buchanans, Camerons, McLeans, Minters, and Womacks.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Broadway’s history
What year was Broadway founded?
In 1870, according to Wikidata. Broadway’s post office opened in 1878, and the census of 1910 counted 149 people here.
How does Broadway rank for history?
Broadway is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns. 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.
How old are the homes in Broadway?
4% of Broadway’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.8 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1979.
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 Wikipedia, 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.
