Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1907.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Cramerton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cramerton is more historic than 39% of U.S. towns, #156 of 290 in North Carolina. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cramerton’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 Cramerton’s 3.7 sits near the middle of its state (44% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 2 historic buildings 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 B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.4 points). Two sources give 1906.
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 Cramerton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Originally named Mayesworth, the town was founded in 1906 when J.H. Mayes built a spinning mill along the banks of the South Fork of the Catawba River, just east of Gastonia. In 1910, textile engineer and Thomasville native Stuart Warren Cramer became owner and president of the mill and property. He turned the mill and the surrounding community into a model mill village. In 1921, Cramer changed the name of the town to Cramerton, and the name of the mill to Cramerton Mills in 1922. Also in 1921, Cramer built the church buildings for the Cramerton Methodist Church (known originally as Mayworth Methodist Church) and First Baptist Church. In 1923, Cramer built the Mayflower Weave Mill.
In 1906, according to Wikidata. Cramerton’s post office opened in 1907, and the census of 1950 counted 3,211 people here.
How does Cramerton rank for history?
Cramerton is more historic than 39% of U.S. towns, #156 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.
What is on the National Register in Cramerton?
One place: the Mayworth School (listed 2002).
How old are the homes in Cramerton?
19% of Cramerton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.4 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 2001.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
