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C−History
History · Granite Falls

Granite Falls’ post office opened in 1888

More historic than 24% of U.S. towns · #190 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it

Most of Granite Falls was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. Below: maps from 1895 on and the census since 1900.

1888first post office
0on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Granite Falls began

When was Granite Falls founded?

1888

The Granite Falls post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Catawba View (1832), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 277 in 19002020 census: 4,965138 years

How historic is Granite Falls?

C−

More historic than 24% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Granite Falls’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Granite Falls is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #190 of 290 in North Carolina. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Granite Falls’ overall grade.
Founding era1888, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19408.2% of homes (±3.3) · typical NC town 4.1% · U.S. 8.4%C+National 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 24%
NewerOlder
North Carolina towns of 2,500+ (290)Ahead of 35%

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 Granite Falls’ 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 range from D to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.3 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 Granite Falls’ 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 Granite Falls are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18954 editions of the USGS map, 1895 to 1993. Watch Granite Falls change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Granite Falls’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Granite Falls’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 map

Granite Falls on the map, 1895 to 1993

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

Granite Falls on the 1895 USGS mapGranite Falls on the 1970 USGS mapGranite Falls on the 1986 USGS mapGranite Falls on the 1993 USGS map1895Hickory sheet · 1:125,000

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

The story

How Granite Falls came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Granite Falls.

Read it all →

The name Granite Falls comes from the waters that splash over the granite boulders spanning Gunpowder Creek. In 1791, pioneer Andrew Baird began operating an iron works beside Gunpowder Creek, and in doing so, became owner of all the land now occupied by the Town of Granite Falls. The community would start to form from that point.

Granite Falls was incorporated as a town in 1899. Before its incorporation, Granite Falls went by other names such as Baird's Forge, Catawba View, Lovelady, and Granite.

In 1952, Evelyn Kent was elected Mayor of Granite Falls, NC, serving from 1952-1954. She was one of the first women to be elected as a Mayor in the state of North Carolina.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Granite Falls, 1832 to 1977

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1832Post officeThe Catawba View post office opens
  3. 1869Post officeThe Catawba View post office closes
  4. 1888Post officeThe Granite Falls post office opens
  5. 1895On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 20th century
  7. 1940Born hereMaxie Williams is born here
  8. 1946Born hereCyndee Peters is born here
  9. 1956Born hereEdgar V. Starnes is born here
  10. 1977Born hereEric Church is born here
By decade

Granite Falls, decade by decade

Today7 recent
Granite Falls, North Carolina 042023Granite Falls, North Carolina 04Granite Falls, North Carolina 032023Granite Falls, North Carolina 03Granite Falls, North Carolina 022023Granite Falls, North Carolina 02Granite Falls, North Carolina 012023Granite Falls, North Carolina 01Granite Falls water tower, North Carolina2023Granite Falls water tower, North CarolinaGranite Falls Municipal Building, North Carolina2023Granite Falls Municipal Building, North CarolinaWinn Dixie2012Winn Dixie
People over time

Granite Falls, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,50019001920194019601980200020204,965

Grew from 277 people in 1900 to 4,965 in 2020, more than tenfold.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Granite Falls

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Eric ChurchAmerican country singer · b. 1977
Cyndee PetersAmerican-Swedish singer · b. 1946
Edgar V. StarnesAmerican politician · b. 1956
M
Maxie WilliamsAmerican football player · b. 1940
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Another post office, Catawba View, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Catawba View
1832–1869
Granite Falls
1888–today
18301930today
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Granite Falls
PinecrestSunset Hill

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.

NorthlakesIts storyD−RhodhissIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHickory21 historic placesB

Questions about Granite Falls’ history

What year was Granite Falls founded?

The Granite Falls post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Granite Falls rank for history?

Granite Falls is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #190 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.

How old are the homes in Granite Falls?

8% of Granite Falls’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.3 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1991.

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 (7), 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.