Fayetteville dates to 1762, and 56 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 72% of U.S. towns · #73 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
Most of Fayetteville was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. 56 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Market House, a National Historic Landmark, and seven historic districts with 206 buildings between them. Below: 8 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1790.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1792.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Fayetteville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fayetteville is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns, #73 of 290 in North Carolina. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Fayetteville’s overall grade.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Fayetteville ranks #161 on History.
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 Fayetteville’s 13.2 sits near the middle of its state (56% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 278 historic buildings outnumber those of 95% of U.S. towns.
Newer cities are common at Fayetteville’s size: in the typical U.S. city of 100,000 or more, 5% of homes predate 1940.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1762.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A+. The pre-1940 share (±0.2 points) is firm at this size.
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 Fayetteville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.
Merchants in Wilmington wanted a town on the Cape Fear River to secure trade with the frontier country. They were afraid people would use the Pee Dee River and transport their goods to Charleston, South Carolina. The merchants bought land from Newberry in Cross Creek. Campbelton became a place where poor whites and free blacks lived and gained a reputation for lawlessness.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Fayetteville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1948Fayetteville 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 Fayetteville.
Every building
Fayetteville, building by building, 1885–1923
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
In 1762, according to Wikidata. Fayetteville’s post office opened in 1792, and the first U.S. census counted 1,536 people here in 1790.
How does Fayetteville rank for history?
Fayetteville is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns, #73 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 Fayetteville?
56 listings: 49 buildings, among them the Market House (a National Historic Landmark since 1973), and 7 historic districts with 206 contributing buildings. 278 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Fayetteville?
2% of Fayetteville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1984.
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), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (4), the National Register of Historic Places (56), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
★ Landmark
1861
1914
1914
