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B−History
History · Mars Hill

Mars Hill’s post office opened in 1871, and 4 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 52% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Mars Hill was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. 4 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 29 buildings between them. Below: maps from 1936 on and the census since 1900.

1871first post office
4on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Mars Hill began

When was Mars Hill founded?

1871

The Mars Hill post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 289 in 19002020 census: 2,007155 years

How historic is Mars Hill?

B−

More historic than 52% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Mars Hill post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Mars Hill’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mars Hill is more historic than 52% of U.S. towns. 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 Mars Hill’s overall grade.
Founding era1871, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19406.7% of homes (±3.9) · typical NC town 4.1% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register4 listings, 32 historic buildings, 106 per 10,000 residents · typical NC town 12.5 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 52%
NewerOlder

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 Mars Hill’s 106 sits above most of its state (76% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 32 historic buildings outnumber those of 82% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.9 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Mars Hill’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 Mars Hill are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Mars Hill’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Mars Hill’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

4 listings protect 32 historic buildings

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
32
each building in a district counts
first listed
2005
Mars Hill High School
Mars Hill High School, built 1938Mars Hill School, built 1928Mars Hill Commercial Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Rustic Revival1
Colonial Revival1
Classical Revival1
Moderne1
Bungalow/Craftsman1
Mars Hill High SchoolRustic Revival · Built 1938
Mars Hill College Historic DistrictColonial Revival · Built 1856
Mars Hill SchoolBuilt 1928
All 4 listings
Mars Hill Commercial Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2015

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

The story

How Mars Hill came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Mars Hill.

Read it all →

Long occupied by indigenous peoples, this area was not settled by European Americans much before the Revolutionary War. They were mostly yeomen and subsistence farmers, many of whom had Scotch-Irish ethnicity. The California Creek Missionary Baptist Church, Mars Hill College Historic District, Mars Hill High School, and Thomas J. Murray House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Mars Hill, 1856 to 1938

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1856BuiltMars Hill College Historic District is built
  3. 1871Post officeThe Mars Hill post office opens
  4. 1882Born hereBascom Lamar Lunsford is born here
  5. 1886Born hereGeorge M. Pritchard is born here
  6. 20th century
  7. 1912Born hereGraham Martin is born here
  8. 1928BuiltMars Hill School is built
  9. 1936On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1938BuiltMars Hill High School is built
By decade

Mars Hill, decade by decade

Today21 recent
Mars Hill Anderson Rosenwald School2019Mars Hill Anderson Rosenwald SchoolMain Street2019Main StreetMain Street2019Main StreetMain Street2019Main StreetMain Street2019Main StreetMain Street2019Main StreetMain Street2019Main StreetMain Street2019Main StreetMain Street2019Main StreetMain Street2019Main StreetMain Street2019Main StreetMain Street2019Main StreetMain Street2019Main StreetMain Street2019Main StreetMain Street2019Main StreetCollege Street2019College StreetCollege Street2019College StreetCoffee Sign2019Coffee SignCascade Street2019Cascade StreetBriggs Service Station2019Briggs Service StationNCMap-doton-MarsHill2004NCMap-doton-MarsHill
On the map

Mars Hill on the map, 1936 to 1990

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

Mars Hill on the 1936 USGS mapMars Hill on the 1945 USGS mapMars Hill on the 1969 USGS mapMars Hill on the 1978 USGS mapMars Hill on the 1990 USGS map1936Mars Hill 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 Mars Hill.

People over time

Mars Hill, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,126

Between 289 and 2,126 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Mars Hill

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

See all →
Graham MartinAmerican diplomat · b. 1912
Bascom Lamar LunsfordAmerican musician and lawyer · b. 1882
George M. PritchardAmerican politician · b. 1886

Questions about Mars Hill’s history

What year was Mars Hill founded?

The Mars Hill post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Mars Hill rank for history?

Mars Hill is more historic than 52% of U.S. towns. 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 Mars Hill?

4 listings: 2 buildings, among them the Mars Hill High School (listed 2005, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Mars Hill College Historic District and the Mars Hill Commercial Historic District, with 29 contributing buildings. 32 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Mars Hill?

7% of Mars Hill’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.9 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1982.

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 (21), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.