Granite Quarry’s post office opened in 1902, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 23% of U.S. towns · #196 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
Most of Granite Quarry was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. Its Register listings are the Michael Braun House and the Granite Quarry School. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1962 on, and the census since 1910.
From Granite Quarry’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How Granite Quarry began
When was Granite Quarry founded?
1902
The Granite Quarry post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Woodside (1891), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 363 in 19102020 census: 2,984124 years
How historic is Granite Quarry?
C−
More historic than 23% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Granite Quarry post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Granite Quarry’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Granite Quarry is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #196 of 290 in North Carolina. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Granite Quarry’s overall grade.
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 Quarry’s 13.1 sits near the middle of its state (56% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% 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 (±3.7 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 Granite Quarry’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Granite Quarry was originally named Woodville when it was founded in the late 1800s. However, the first post office in the town was established under the name of Woodsides in 1891, after a prominent family in the area named Woodsides. The name was officially changed to Woodsides when the town was incorporated on March 7, 1901, by the North Carolina General Assembly. Jerry L. Shuping was the first mayor. The first town meetings were held in an upstairs room in the W. S. Brown store building. What is now the Town Hall Municipal Building was originally built in 1963 by Gemgas, and purchased later by the town.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Granite Quarry. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1962Rockwell 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 Granite Quarry.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewMichael Braun House, State Route 2308
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Granite Quarry’s page.
The Granite Quarry post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Granite Quarry rank for history?
Granite Quarry is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #196 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 Granite Quarry?
Two places: the Michael Braun House (listed 1971) and the Granite Quarry School (2001).
How old are the homes in Granite Quarry?
3% of Granite Quarry’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.7 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1982.
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 (2), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.
Date?
2012
2004
