The story
Read it all →How Franklinville came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Franklinville.
The Franklinville Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
AHistory
History · Franklinville
Franklinville’s post office opened in 1840, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 87% of U.S. towns. What drives it
1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 137 buildings. Below: maps from 1968 on and the census since 1880.
1840first post office
1on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Franklinville began
When was Franklinville founded?
1840
The Franklinville post office opened in 1840, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 366 in 18802020 census: 1,197186 years
How historic is Franklinville?
A
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 87% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Franklinville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Franklinville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Franklinville is more historic than 87% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Franklinville’s overall grade.
Founding era1840, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194012.1% of homes (±5.7) · typical NC town 4.1% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register1 listing, 137 historic buildings, 1,211 per 10,000 residents · typical NC town 12.5 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 87%
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 Franklinville’s 1,211 sits above most of its state (99% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 137 historic buildings outnumber those of 91% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.7 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 Franklinville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · On the National Register
1 listing protects 137 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
137
each building in a district counts
first listed
1984
Franklinville Historic District
Districts
Architectural styles listings
Greek Revival1
Restrained1
Georgian1
Federal1
Transitional1
Victorian1
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Help out
Start Franklinville’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Franklinville’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.By decade
Franklinville, decade by decade
2019
2019
2019
2012On the map
Franklinville on the map, 1968 to 1984
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Franklinville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1968Ramseur sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Franklinville.
People over time
Franklinville, census by census
Between 366 and 1,258 people in every census since 1880.
12 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Franklinville’s Wikipedia page.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Franklinville’s history
What year was Franklinville founded?
The Franklinville post office opened in 1840, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Franklinville rank for history?
Franklinville is more historic than 87% 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.
What is on the National Register in Franklinville?
One place: the Franklinville Historic District (listed 1984).
How old are the homes in Franklinville?
12% of Franklinville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.7 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1987.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (4), Wikidata (1), 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.