Most of Camden was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1995. Its Register listings are the Camden County Courthouse and the Camden County Jail. Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1948 on.
The Camden post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Camden Court House (1826), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 620134 years
How historic is Camden?
C
More historic than 34% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Camden post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Camden’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Camden is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Camden’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 Camden’s 17.9 sits near the middle of its state (59% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Camden’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Camden yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Camden is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Camden County, North Carolina, United States. It is the county seat of Camden County, a consolidated city-county. At the 2020 census, the population was 620. Camden is located on the eastern banks of the Pasquotank River, across from which lies Elizabeth City. It currently has two traffic lights, and is centered at the intersection of U.S. Highway 158 and North Carolina Highway 343. It has five schools: Grandy Primary School, Camden Intermediate School, Camden Middle School, Camden County High, and Camtech Early College High School. Camden is part of the Elizabeth City, NC Micropolitan Statistical Area. The Camden County C…
Its first post office opened in 1892. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 599 to 620 (+4%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Camden, 1786 to 1948
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds
Camden’s post office has been open since 1892. Another post office, Camden Court House, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Camden Court House
1826–1892
Camden
1892–today
18201920today
Gone or out of use
Sawyerslocale
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Camden
Enoch SawyerMorrisetteMorrisette
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Camden’s history
What year was Camden founded?
The Camden post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Camden rank for history?
Camden is more historic than 34% 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.
What is on the National Register in Camden?
Two places: the Camden County Courthouse (listed 1972) and the Camden County Jail (1984).
How old are the homes in Camden?
3% of Camden’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.7 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1995.
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 (2), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
2017
