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A−History
History · Jamestown

Jamestown dates to 1762, and 5 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 83% of U.S. towns · #41 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it

Most of Jamestown was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. 5 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 50 buildings between them. Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1950 on, and the census since 1880.

1762founded
5on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
11old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Jamestown’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Jamestown began

When was Jamestown founded?

1762

Jamestown dates its founding to 1762 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 90 in 18802020 census: 3,668264 years

How historic is Jamestown?

A−

More historic than 83% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1811.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Jamestown’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Jamestown is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #41 of 290 in North Carolina. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Jamestown’s overall grade.
Founding era1762, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 19405.5% of homes (±4.4) · typical NC town 4.1% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register5 listings, 55 historic buildings, 148 per 10,000 residents · typical NC town 12.5 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 83%
NewerOlder
North Carolina towns of 2,500+ (290)Ahead of 86%

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 Jamestown’s 148 sits above most of its state (81% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 55 historic buildings outnumber those of 86% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1762.
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 (±4.4 points).

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Jamestown’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A historic districtThe Oakdale Cotton Mill Village takes in 37 historic buildings.Older than the countryEstablished in 1762, 14 years before the Declaration of Independence.Landmarks on the Register5 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

5 listings protect 55 historic buildings

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

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
55
each building in a district counts
first listed
1972
Richard Mendenhall Plantation Buildings
Richard Mendenhall Plantation BuildingsOakdale Cotton Mill VillageJamestown High School, FormerGardner HouseRagsdale Farm
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Classical Revival1
Colonial Revival1
Traditional Agriculture1
Richard Mendenhall Plantation BuildingsBuilding
Oakdale Cotton Mill VillageDistrict
Jamestown High School, FormerClassical Revival
All 5 listings
Gardner HouseBuilding · listed 1974Ragsdale FarmDistrict · listed 1991

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

Timeline

Jamestown, 1762 to 1991

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1762
    FoundingJamestown is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1811Post officeThe Jamestown post office opens
  5. 1819Born hereNereus Mendenhall is born here
  6. 20th century
  7. 1907Born herePep Young is born here
  8. 1950On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1968In the archiveBRIDGE PLATE - North Carolina Route 1334 Bridge, Spanning Deep River
  10. 1977In the archiveMcCulloch Gold Mill, Copper Branch, north of State Route 1153, Jamestown vicinity (Guilfo…
  11. 1982Born hereClyde Simms is born here
  12. 1991Born hereKasey Redfern is born here
The story

How Jamestown came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Jamestown.

Read it all →

As early as 1701, the Keyauwee people were living in a village in this region. They enjoyed the area's mild climate, abundant natural resources, and the fertile hunting grounds along the Deep and Uwharrie rivers.

Part of a loose confederacy of 20 or more tribes, it is believed that by the 1760s, the Keyauwee had moved south, close to the boundary between the two Carolinas, where they were likely absorbed by the Catawba tribe.

ChaptersThe KeyauweeQuaker settlement19th century20th century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Jamestown, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1960s to the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1960s7 items
BRIDGE PLATE - North Carolina Route 1334 Bridge, Spanning Deep River1968BRIDGE PLATE - North Carolina Route 1334 Bridge, Span…HAER NC,41-JAMTO.V,1- (sheet 1 of 6) - McCulloch Gold Mill, Copper Branch, north of State Route 11531968HAER NC,41-JAMTO.V,1- (sheet 1 of 6) - McCulloch Gold…HAER NC,41-JAMTO.V,1- (sheet 2 of 6) - McCulloch Gold Mill, Copper Branch, north of State Route 11531968HAER NC,41-JAMTO.V,1- (sheet 2 of 6) - McCulloch Gold…HAER NC,41-JAMTO.V,1- (sheet 3 of 6) - McCulloch Gold Mill, Copper Branch, north of State Route 11531968HAER NC,41-JAMTO.V,1- (sheet 3 of 6) - McCulloch Gold…HAER NC,41-JAMTO.V,1- (sheet 4 of 6) - McCulloch Gold Mill, Copper Branch, north of State Route 11531968HAER NC,41-JAMTO.V,1- (sheet 4 of 6) - McCulloch Gold…HAER NC,41-JAMTO.V,1- (sheet 5 of 6) - McCulloch Gold Mill, Copper Branch, north of State Route 11531968HAER NC,41-JAMTO.V,1- (sheet 5 of 6) - McCulloch Gold…HAER NC,41-JAMTO.V,1- (sheet 6 of 6) - McCulloch Gold Mill, Copper Branch, north of State Route 11531968HAER NC,41-JAMTO.V,1- (sheet 6 of 6) - McCulloch Gold…
1970s1 item
McCulloch Gold Mill, Copper Branch, north of State Route 1153, Jamestown vicinity (Guilford County, North Carolina)1977McCulloch Gold Mill, Copper Branch, north of State Ro…
1980s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Date unknown3 to date
Historic American Buildings Survey, L.R. Winslow, Photographer c.1934 FRONT VIEW. - Mendenhall Counting House, Jamestow…Date?Historic American Buildings Survey, L.R. Winslow, Pho…Historic American Buildings Survey, L.R. Winslow, Photographer c.1934 SIDE ELEVATION. - Mendenhall Counting House, Jame…Date?Historic American Buildings Survey, L.R. Winslow, Pho…Historic American Buildings Survey, Thomas T. Waterman, Photographer April 16, 1940. - Mendenhall Counting House, James…Date?Historic American Buildings Survey, Thomas T. Waterma…
Today1 recent
Rural public high school2012Rural public high school
On the map

Jamestown on the map, 1950 to 2002

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

Jamestown on the 1950 USGS mapJamestown on the 1968 USGS mapJamestown on the 1982 USGS mapJamestown on the 1993 USGS mapJamestown on the 2002 USGS map1950High Point East 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 Jamestown.

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.

BRIDGE PLATE - North Carolina Route 1334 Bridge, Spanning Deep River
Retake this viewBRIDGE PLATE - North Carolina Route 1334 Bridge, Spanning Deep River, 1968

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Jamestown’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Jamestown, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,000188019001920194019601980200020203,668

Grew from 90 people in 1880 to 3,668 in 2020, more than tenfold.

9 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Jamestown

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

See all →
Clyde SimmsAmerican soccer player · b. 1982
Nereus MendenhallAmerican educator · b. 1819
Kasey RedfernAmerican-football player · b. 1991
P
Pep YoungAmerican baseball player · b. 1907
Places that used to be

Old corners

Jamestown’s post office has been open since 1811.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Oakdale

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

Help out

Finish Jamestown’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo3 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewBRIDGE PLATE - North Carolina Route 133…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

High Point34 historic placesAGreensboro61 historic placesA−

Questions about Jamestown’s history

What year was Jamestown founded?

In 1762, according to Wikidata. Jamestown’s post office opened in 1811, and the census of 1880 counted 90 people here.

How does Jamestown rank for history?

Jamestown is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #41 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 Jamestown?

5 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Richard Mendenhall Plantation Buildings (listed 1972, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Oakdale Cotton Mill Village and the Ragsdale Farm, with 50 contributing buildings. 55 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Jamestown?

6% of Jamestown’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.4 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1988.

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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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.