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History · Lansing

Lansing’s post office opened in 1892, and 42% of its homes were built before 1940

3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 62 buildings. Below: maps from 1953 on and the census since 1960.

1892first post office
3on the National Register
42%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Lansing began

When was Lansing founded?

1892

The Lansing post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1928.

First census: 278 in 19602020 census: 126134 years
Founding year: the first Lansing post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1928.The full story ↓

What stands out about Lansing’s 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 Lansing are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Lansing Historic District takes in 62 historic buildings.Old housesHalf of Lansing’s homes were built before 1943.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lansing’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lansing’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 National Register

3 listings protect 65 historic buildings

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
65
each building in a district counts
first listed
2009
Lansing School
Lansing SchoolLansing Historic DistrictClark-Miller Roller Mill
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Colonial Revival2
Queen Anne1
Bungalow/Craftsman1
Commercial Style1
Period Cottage1
Cape Cod1
Lansing SchoolColonial Revival
All 3 listings
Lansing Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2011Clark-Miller Roller MillBuilding · listed 2014

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

The story

How Lansing came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lansing.

Read it all →

The town of Lansing was incorporated May 16, 1928. Lansing has one stop sign, a single three-way intersection at NC 194 and Big Horse Creek Road.

In the early 20th century, Lansing was a prosperous community, primarily because of the Norfolk and Western Railroad Company, whose daily mixed train, nicknamed the "Virginia Creeper", stopped here. Todd, West Jefferson, White Oak, and other towns in North Carolina were also regular stopping places for the train. There were some productive iron mines around Lansing that used the railroad to move ore.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Lansing, decade by decade

Today10 recent
Lansing (Caroline du Nord)2020Lansing (Caroline du Nord)Snow in hay field that is now park2019Snow in hay field that is now parkLansing's volunteer fire department2019Lansing's volunteer fire departmentHorse Creek out of it banks cover park2019Horse Creek out of it banks cover parkFishing deck under water2019Fishing deck under waterDowntown Lansing and a foggy Phoenix mountain in the back ground2019Downtown Lansing and a foggy Phoenix mountain in the …On Lansing's fishing deck in the Creeper park looking back into town2016On Lansing's fishing deck in the Creeper park looking…Barn at Tea Berry bridge2016Barn at Tea Berry bridgeLower VA Creeper trail2014Lower VA Creeper trailLansing overhead2008Lansing overhead
On the map

Lansing on the map, 1953 to 1962

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

Lansing on the 1953 USGS mapLansing on the 1962 USGS map1953Winston-Salem sheet · 1:250,000

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

People over time

Lansing, census by census

01002003001960198020002020Peak: 283

Between 126 and 283 people in every census since 1960.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

Questions about Lansing’s history

What year was Lansing founded?

The Lansing post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1928.

What is on the National Register in Lansing?

Three places: the Lansing School (listed 2009), the Lansing Historic District (2011) and the Clark-Miller Roller Mill (2014).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (10), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, 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.