Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 10% of U.S. towns · #232 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
Most of Holly Ridge was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2015. Below: maps from 1948 on and the census since 1950.
The Holly Ridge post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 10% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Holly Ridge is more historic than 10% of U.S. towns, #232 of 290 in North Carolina. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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 Holly Ridge’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.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Holly Ridge’s history is told.
Lost half of its people between 1950 and 1970, then grew more than tenfold.
8 censuses, 1950–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Holly Ridge’s Wikipedia page.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Holly Ridge yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Holly Ridge is a town in Onslow County, North Carolina, United States. The 2010 population was 1,268. The 2020 census population was 4,171.
Its first post office opened in 1893. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,268 to 4,171 (+229%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
Born hereStephen Bowen is born hereWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Holly Ridge. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Holly Ridge.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Holly Ridge post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Holly Ridge is more historic than 10% of U.S. towns, #232 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.
0.0% of Holly Ridge’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 2015.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 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.
