The story
Read it all →How Landis came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Landis.
Landis was incorporated in 1901 and began as a textile town, with its largest mill being Linn Mill Company.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
DHistory
History · Landis
Landis dates to 1901
More historic than 12% of U.S. towns · #228 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
Most of Landis was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1994. Below: maps from 1893 on and the census since 1910.
1901founded
0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Quick answers
How Landis began
When was Landis founded?
1901
Landis dates its founding to 1901 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1910.
First census: 437 in 19102020 census: 3,690125 years
How historic is Landis?
D
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 12% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1902.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Landis’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Landis is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns, #228 of 290 in North Carolina. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Landis’ overall grade.
Founding era1901, from Wikipedia: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19406.2% of homes (±5.1) · typical NC town 4.1% · U.S. 8.4%CNational 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 12%
NewerOlder
North Carolina towns of 2,500+ (290)Ahead of 21%
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 Landis’ 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 (±5.1 points). Two sources give 1901.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Landis’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Landis’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Landis’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Landis on the map, 1893 to 1987
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Landis. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1893Statesville sheet · 1:125,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Landis.
Timeline
Landis, 1893 to 1960
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1893
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 20th century
- 1901FoundingLandis is established
- 1902Post officeThe Landis post office opens
- 1935Born hereBilly Ray Barnes is born here
- 1960
Born hereFred Franklin Steen II is born here
By decade
Landis, decade by decade
2024
2024
2024
2024
2004People over time
Landis, census by census
Grew from 437 people in 1910 to 3,690 in 2020, 8 times over.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Landis’ Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →2 famous people were born in Landis
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Landis’ history
What year was Landis founded?
In 1901, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Landis’ post office opened in 1902, and the census of 1910 counted 437 people here.
How does Landis rank for history?
Landis is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns, #228 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 Landis?
6% of Landis’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.1 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1994.
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 (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.