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DHistory
History · Foscoe

Foscoe’s post office opened in 1886

More historic than 14% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Foscoe was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2002. Below: maps from 1934 on.

1886first post office
0on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Foscoe began

When was Foscoe founded?

1886

The Foscoe post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 1,457140 years

How historic is Foscoe?

D

More historic than 14% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Foscoe post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Foscoe’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Foscoe is more historic than 14% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Foscoe’s overall grade.
Founding era1886, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19401.0% of homes (±1.5) · typical NC town 4.1% · U.S. 8.4%DNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical NC town 12.5 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 14%
NewerOlder

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 Foscoe’s 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 (±1.5 points) is firm at this size. 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 Foscoe’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 Foscoe are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Foscoe’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Foscoe’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
The story so far

Foscoe, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Foscoe yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Foscoe is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Watauga County, North Carolina, United States. The community is located on NC 105, southwest of Boone. As of the 2020 census, Foscoe had a population of 1,457. The community is between Seven Devils and Shulls Mill. Multiple shops dot the main highway, serving a tourist clientele. Its development, since the 1980s, is thanks to year-round tourism to nearby attractions, notably Grandfather Mountain. Historically, the East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad (Nicknamed "Tweetsie") passed through the area until flooding destroyed the tracks in 1940. In 1956, NC 105 was built over the original rail bed.

Its first post office opened in 1886. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,370 to 1,457 (+6%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Foscoe, 1886 to 1934

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1886Post officeThe Foscoe post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1911Post officeThe Foscoe post office closes
  5. 1934On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Foscoe, decade by decade

Today8 recent
Sims Pond at the Julian Price Memorial Park, along the southern reaches of the Blue Ridge Parkway, near Foscoe, North C…2017Sims Pond at the Julian Price Memorial Park, along th…Moss-covered stone picnic tables at a campsite along the southern reaches of the Blue Ridge Parkway, near Foscoe, North…2017Moss-covered stone picnic tables at a campsite along …Red barn along the southern reaches of the Blue Ridge Parkway, near Foscoe, North Carolina. Considered America's longes…2017Red barn along the southern reaches of the Blue Ridge…Fall scene along the southern reaches of the Blue Ridge Parkway, near Foscoe, North Carolina. Considered America's long…2017Fall scene along the southern reaches of the Blue Rid…Whimsical fall display at Maws Produce Stand2017Whimsical fall display at Maws Produce StandRivulets on the rocks alongside the southern reaches of the Blue Ridge Parkway, near Foscoe, North Carolina. Considered…2017Rivulets on the rocks alongside the southern reaches …The road curves on the Blue Ridge Parkway, near Foscoe, North Carolina. Considered America's longest linear park, the s…2017The road curves on the Blue Ridge Parkway, near Fosco…Along the southern reaches of the Blue Ridge Parkway, near Foscoe, North Carolina. Considered America's longest linear …2017Along the southern reaches of the Blue Ridge Parkway,…
On the map

Foscoe on the map, 1934 to 1994

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

Foscoe on the 1934 USGS mapFoscoe on the 1944 USGS mapFoscoe on the 1960 USGS mapFoscoe on the 1978 USGS mapFoscoe on the 1994 USGS map1934Valle Crucis sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Foscoe.

Famous people

Famous people close to Foscoe

Nobody well known was born in Foscoe itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Kary MullisAmerican biochemist · b. 1944
Max RoachAmerican jazz percussionist, drummer, and compo… · b. 1924
Tom RobbinsAmerican writer · b. 1932
Tommy BurlesonAmerican basketball player · b. 1952
Jim BroyhillAmerican politician · b. 1927
Daniel P. DriscollAmerican politician · b. 1980
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Foscoe had its own post office from 1886 to 1911.

Foscoe
1886–1911
18801950today
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Foscoe
ByrdCallowayCoffeyShook

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Seven DevilsIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Foscoe’s history

What year was Foscoe founded?

The Foscoe post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Foscoe rank for history?

Foscoe is more historic than 14% 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.

How old are the homes in Foscoe?

1% of Foscoe’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.5 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 2002.

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).

From the Library of Congress (8), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.