Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to McLeansville

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · McLeansville

McLeansville’s post office opened in 1856

Most of McLeansville was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1952 on, and the census since 1980.

1856first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From McLeansville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How McLeansville began

When was McLeansville founded?

1856

The McLeansville post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,176 in 19802020 census: 1,113170 years
Founding year: the first McLeansville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about McLeansville’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.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start McLeansville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPost office. McLeansville, North Caroli…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

McLeansville, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of McLeansville yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

McLeansville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,113 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1856. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,021 to 1,113 (+9%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

McLeansville, 1856 to 1952

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1856Post officeThe McLeansville post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1938In the archivePost office. McLeansville, North Carolina
  5. 1952On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

McLeansville, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s1 item
Post office. McLeansville, North Carolina1938Post office. McLeansville, North Carolina
1940s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
On the map

McLeansville on the map, 1952 to 1977

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

McLeansville on the 1952 USGS mapMcLeansville on the 1968 USGS mapMcLeansville on the 1977 USGS map1952Mc Leansville 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 McLeansville.

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.

Post office. McLeansville, North Carolina
Retake this viewPost office. McLeansville, North Carolina, 1938

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

McLeansville, census by census

02004006008001,0001,200198020002020Peak: 1,176

Between 1,021 and 1,176 people in every census since 1980.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to McLeansville

Nobody well known was born in McLeansville itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
John IsnerAmerican tennis player · b. 1985
Fantasia BarrinoAmerican singer · b. 1984
Loretta LynchAmerican attorney · b. 1959
Bob McAdooAmerican basketball player · b. 1951
Gianluca BusioAmerican soccer player · b. 2002
E
Emma TillmanSupercentenarian, oldest person in the world · b. 1892
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Greensboro61 historic placesA−

Questions about McLeansville’s history

What year was McLeansville founded?

The McLeansville post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 the Library of Congress (1), 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.