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B−History
History · Four Oaks

Four Oaks’ post office opened in 1887, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 46% of U.S. towns · #138 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it

Most of Four Oaks was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 29 buildings. Below: maps from 1908 on and the census since 1890.

1887first post office
1on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Four Oaks began

When was Four Oaks founded?

1887

The Four Oaks post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 62 in 18902020 census: 2,158139 years

How historic is Four Oaks?

B−

More historic than 46% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Four Oaks post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Four Oaks’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Four Oaks is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #138 of 290 in North Carolina. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Four Oaks’ overall grade.
Founding era1887, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19403.5% of homes (±3.5) · typical NC town 4.1% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register1 listing, 29 historic buildings, 118 per 10,000 residents · typical NC town 12.5 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 46%
NewerOlder
North Carolina towns of 2,500+ (290)Ahead of 53%

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 Four Oaks’ 118 sits above most of its state (78% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 29 historic buildings outnumber those of 81% 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 (±3.5 points). 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 Four Oaks’ 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 Four Oaks are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Four Oaks Commercial Historic District takes in 29 historic buildings.On the map since 19083 editions of the USGS map, 1908 to 1997. Watch Four Oaks change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Four Oaks’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Four Oaks’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
On the National Register

1 listing protects 29 historic buildings

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
29
each building in a district counts
first listed
2006
Four Oaks Commercial Historic District
Four Oaks Commercial Historic District
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Commercial1
Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival1
Vernacular industrial1
Four Oaks Commercial Historic DistrictCommercial

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

On the map

Four Oaks on the map, 1908 to 1997

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

Four Oaks on the 1908 USGS mapFour Oaks on the 1986 USGS mapFour Oaks on the 1997 USGS map1908Four Oaks 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 Four Oaks.

The story

How Four Oaks came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Four Oaks.

Read it all →

Four Oaks was one of several towns founded along a branch of the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad, completed though Johnston County in 1886.

Four Oaks—named for four oak tree sprouts growing from a stump—incorporated in 1889, and at that time had a post office, a public gin, saw and grist mills, a saloon and general store, a church, and a population of 25. Cotton and tobacco farming were notable industries in the surrounding community.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Four Oaks, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Hockaday Mill Road and Brewer Road;2018Hockaday Mill Road and Brewer Road;Four Oaks Commercial Historic District; Main St & US 3012018Four Oaks Commercial Historic District; Main St & US …Cabbage Patch on Allendale Road2018Cabbage Patch on Allendale RoadFour Oaks North Carolina2013Four Oaks North CarolinaWetland Howell Woods Four Oaks NC 59862012Wetland Howell Woods Four Oaks NC 5986NCMap-doton-FourOaks2004NCMap-doton-FourOaks
People over time

Four Oaks, census by census

05001,0001,5002,00019001920194019601980200020202,158

Grew from 62 people in 1890 to 2,158 in 2020, more than tenfold.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Four Oaks

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

See all →
Link WrayAmerican guitarist · b. 1929
Gregory HelmsAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1974
Scotty McCreeryAmerican country music singer · b. 1993
Debbi MorganAmerican actress · b. 1956
Gregory WalcottActor · b. 1928
Paul GreenAmerican playwright · b. 1894
Places that used to be

Old corners

Four Oaks’s post office has been open since 1887.

Hamlets and corners on the map
The Oaks

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

Questions about Four Oaks’ history

What year was Four Oaks founded?

The Four Oaks post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Four Oaks rank for history?

Four Oaks is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #138 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 Four Oaks?

One place: the Four Oaks Commercial Historic District (listed 2006).

How old are the homes in Four Oaks?

4% of Four Oaks’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.5 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1985.

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 Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.