Louisburg dates to 1779, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 93% of U.S. towns · #4 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
10 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 206 buildings. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1794.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Louisburg’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Louisburg is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns, #4 of 290 in North Carolina. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Louisburg’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 Louisburg’s 677 sits above most of its state (95% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 221 historic buildings outnumber those of 94% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±12.5 points). Two sources give 1779.
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 Louisburg’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Louisburg, building by building, 1893–1930
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1893Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Louisburg was established in 1779 and named in honor of King Louis XVI of France, who was aiding the American Revolution at the time. Louisburg was established on land purchased for the erection of a courthouse.
In June 1965, the local newspaper and radio station publicized the names and addresses of African-American families who had applied to attend white schools in Franklin County. The families were attacked on numerous occasions by white extremists, who fired into their homes or destroyed their cars. In the summer of 1966, a series of cross burnings were perpetrated by the Ku Klux Klan in Franklin County, including one in front of the County Board of Education in Louisburg.
[ also knew and saw Mrs. Watson when she was making the "large flag" which was raised on the courthouse square in the town of Louisburg, T\". C, on March 18, 1861. This large flag was exactly like the small one sent to Montgomery by Mr. Smith. 1 was present ami saw Mr. Smith when he raised it. (Signed) Mrs. Sue Jasper Sugg.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
As I had this news broken to me so suddenly, I was impatient for the next morning to come, that I might go over to Louisburg and see what that secession monstrosity meant,* and finishing my breakfast I put out afoot and soon found myself under its movingfolds where it had been erected near where Hicks' corner now is on Main street in Louisburg.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Louisburg, 1779 to 1978
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
In 1779, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Louisburg’s post office opened in 1794, and the census of 1870 counted 750 people here.
How does Louisburg rank for history?
Louisburg is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns, #4 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 Louisburg?
10 listings: 9 buildings, among them the Person Place (listed 1972, the first), and 1 historic district, the Louisburg Historic District, with 206 contributing buildings. 221 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Louisburg?
22% of Louisburg’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±12.5 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1971.
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), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (10), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1933
1933
1933
