More historic than 13% of U.S. towns · #218 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
Most of Cornelius was built recently: 0.9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2002. Below: maps from 1970 on and the census since 1910.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1873.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Cornelius’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cornelius is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns, #218 of 290 in North Carolina. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cornelius’ 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 Cornelius’ 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 still be D. The pre-1940 share (±0.6 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1893.
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 Cornelius’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The Cornelius area has been settled since at least the 1750s. Potts Plantation was established near Cornelius in 1753. The town of Cornelius, the second youngest of Mecklenburg County's six incorporated towns, was founded in 1893, but not incorporated until March 4, 1905. The town's origin has been traced by many historians to a dispute over cotton weighing.
Cornelius has experienced explosive growth during the 2000s, swelling from under 2,600 in the 1990 census to over 31,000 in the 2020 census. The greatest percentage growth was 364% between the 1990 and 2000 censuses, but in absolute terms the population has nearly tripled from under 12,000 in 2000 to the low to mid 30,000s today.
In 1893, according to Wikidata. Cornelius’ post office opened in 1873, and the census of 1910 counted 833 people here.
How does Cornelius rank for history?
Cornelius is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns, #218 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.
How old are the homes in Cornelius?
0.9% of Cornelius’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 2002.
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), 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.
2019
2009
2008
2007
2007
2007
