Lumberton dates to 1787, and 8 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 72% of U.S. towns · #75 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
Most of Lumberton was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. 8 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 64 buildings. Below: 4 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 Lumberton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lumberton is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns, #75 of 290 in North Carolina. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lumberton’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 Lumberton’s 37.6 sits above most of its state (67% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 71 historic buildings outnumber those of 87% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. The pre-1940 share (±1.2 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1787.
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 Lumberton’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
Lumberton, building by building, 1893–1914
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.
Robeson County, North Carolina, was formed in 1787. General John Willis, owner of the Red Banks plantation, lobbied to have the county's new seat of government located on his land. The site of Lumberton was chosen due to its central location in the county, proximity to a reliable ford of the Lumber River, and as it was where several roads intersected. Willis turned over 170 acres, which were surveyed and disbursed in a lottery held under the auspices of the county court on August 14, 1787. As the site was heavily forested, trees were felled to make way for a courthouse, business and residential lots, streets, a commons, and a public square. The first courthouse was a wooden residence sold by Willis to the county and moved into place after the land was clear. Lumberton was formally created by an act of the North Carolina General Assembly on November 3, 1788, which granted the town a char…
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 1787, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Lumberton’s post office opened in 1794, and the census of 1870 counted 615 people here.
How does Lumberton rank for history?
Lumberton is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns, #75 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 Lumberton?
8 listings: 7 buildings, among them the Luther Henry Caldwell House (listed 1978, the first), and 1 historic district, the Lumberton Commercial Historic District, with 64 contributing buildings. 71 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Lumberton?
6% of Lumberton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.2 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1976.
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 (4), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (8), 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 and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
