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History · McAdenville

McAdenville dates to 1881, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of McAdenville was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2010. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 93 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1970 on, and the census since 1900.

1881founded
1on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From McAdenville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How McAdenville began, and where its name came from

When was McAdenville founded?

1881

McAdenville dates its founding to 1881 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 1,144 in 19002020 census: 890145 years

How did McAdenville get its name?

McAdenville was named after Rufus Yancey McAden, president of McAden Mills, the town's textile mill.

Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1884. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about McAdenville’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe McAdenville Historic District takes in 93 historic buildings.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start McAdenville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how McAdenville’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewMcAden Mill Number 2, Main Street: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

1 listing protects 93 historic buildings

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
93
each building in a district counts
first listed
2009
McAdenville Historic District
McAdenville Historic District
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Late Victorian1
Italianate1
Queen Anne1
McAdenville Historic DistrictLate Victorian

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

The story

How McAdenville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of McAdenville.

Read it all →

McAdenville was incorporated in 1881. It was named after Rufus Yancey McAden, president of McAden Mills, the town's textile mill. McAden had served in the North Carolina House of Commons from 1862 to 1867, and was Speaker of the House in 1866. He came to Charlotte in 1867 to become president of the two-year-old First National Bank.

Pharr Yarns, a yarn manufacturing company, was founded in McAdenville in 1939. It grew to become a major employer and sponsored various projects in the town during its existence. It was sold in 2019.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

McAdenville, 1881 to 1970

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1881
    FoundingMcAdenville is established
  3. 1884Post officeThe McAdenville post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1914Born hereGeorge Watts is born here
  6. 1970On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

McAdenville, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
McAden Mill Number 2, Main StreetDate?McAden Mill Number 2, Main Street
Today11 recent
Pharr McAdenville Corporation building2022Pharr McAdenville Corporation buildingMcAdenville, North Carolina2022McAdenville, North CarolinaMcAdenville Town Hall 22022McAdenville Town Hall 2McAden Memorial Hall2022McAden Memorial HallMcAdenville Town Hall2021McAdenville Town HallMcAdenville Town Hall - better2021McAdenville Town Hall - betterMcAdenville Home2021McAdenville HomeMcAdenville Downtown2021McAdenville DowntownMcAden Mill No. 22021McAden Mill No. 2McAden Mill, McAdensville, NC2012McAden Mill, McAdensville, NCNCMap-doton-Cramerton2004NCMap-doton-Cramerton
On the map

McAdenville on the map, 1970 to 1993

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

McAdenville on the 1970 USGS mapMcAdenville on the 1986 USGS mapMcAdenville on the 1993 USGS map1970Mount Holly 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 McAdenville.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

McAden Mill Number 2, Main Street
Retake this viewMcAden Mill Number 2, Main Street

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on McAdenville’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

McAdenville, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,162

Between 619 and 1,162 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Cramerton1 historic placeC+LowellIts storyC

Questions about McAdenville’s history

What year was McAdenville founded?

In 1881, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. McAdenville’s post office opened in 1884, and the census of 1900 counted 1,144 people here.

What is on the National Register in McAdenville?

One place: the McAdenville Historic District (listed 2009).

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 (11), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.