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History · Clarkton

Clarkton’s post office opened in 1874, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

Most of Clarkton was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. Its Register listings are the Clarkton Depot and the John Hector Clark House. Below: maps from 1955 on and the census since 1910.

1874first post office
2on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Clarkton began

When was Clarkton founded?

1874

The Clarkton post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Dalton (1870), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 276 in 19102020 census: 614152 years
Founding year: the first Clarkton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Clarkton’s 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 Clarkton are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 837 in 2010; 614 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Clarkton’s collection

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

Clarkton, census by census

0200400600800192019401960198020002020Peak: 837

Peaked at 837 in 2010; 614 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Clarkton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Clarkton.

Read it all →

The Brown Marsh Presbyterian Church, John Hector Clark House, and Clarkton Depot are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Clarkton was once home to former Lieutenant Governor James C. "Jimmy" Green.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Clarkton, 1870 to 2010

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1870Post officeThe Dalton post office opens
  3. 1874Post officeThe Dalton post office closes
  4. 1874Post officeThe Clarkton post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1928BuiltJohn Hector Clark House is built
  7. 1938Born hereDon Prince is born here
  8. 1955On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 21st century
  10. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 837
By decade

Clarkton, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Clarkton, NC Sept 2014 Railroad materials2014Clarkton, NC Sept 2014 Railroad materialsClarkton, NC Sept 20142014Clarkton, NC Sept 2014Clarkton, NC Sept 2014 - panoramio (1)2014Clarkton, NC Sept 2014 - panoramio (1)John Hector Clark House Aug 112011John Hector Clark House Aug 11Clarkton2008Clarkton
On the map

Clarkton on the map, 1955 to 2002

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

Clarkton on the 1955 USGS mapClarkton on the 1987 USGS mapClarkton on the 2002 USGS map1955Whiteville 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 Clarkton.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Clarkton

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1986
Clarkton Depot
Clarkton DepotJohn Hector Clark House, built 1928
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Coastal Cottage1
Clarkton DepotBuilding
John Hector Clark HouseCoastal Cottage · Built 1928

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

Clarkton’s post office has been open since 1874. Another post office, Dalton, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Dalton
1870–1874
Clarkton
1874–today
18701950today

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

Questions about Clarkton’s history

What year was Clarkton founded?

The Clarkton post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Clarkton?

Two places: the Clarkton Depot (listed 1986) and the John Hector Clark House (1987).

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 Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikidata (2), 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.