Most of Claremont was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1994. Its Register listings are the Bunker Hill Covered Bridge and the Rock Barn Farm. Below: maps from 1895 on and the census since 1900.
Founding year: the first Claremont post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Claremont’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Claremont is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Claremont’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 Claremont’s 20.8 sits near the middle of its state (61% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.1 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 Claremont’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Originally known as Charlotte Crossing, and later as Setzer Depot, Claremont began using its current name in 1892. The name is from Clare Sigmon, the daughter of an early settler. The city incorporated in 1893.
In 2023, network infrastructure provider CommScope, moved its company headquarters from nearby Hickory to Claremont. In 2025, CommScope would move its headquarters again, this time to Richardson, Texas.
The Bunker Hill Covered Bridge and Rock Barn Farm are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Claremont post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Claremont rank for history?
Claremont is more historic than 45% 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 Claremont?
Two places: the Bunker Hill Covered Bridge (listed 1970) and the Rock Barn Farm (1990).
How old are the homes in Claremont?
7% of Claremont’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.1 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1994.
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 (12), 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), 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.
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