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History · Middlesex

Middlesex’s post office opened in 1908

Most of Middlesex was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: maps from 1902 on and the census since 1910.

1908first post office
0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Middlesex began

When was Middlesex founded?

1908

The Middlesex post office opened in 1908, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 467 in 19102020 census: 912118 years
Founding year: the first Middlesex post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Middlesex’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 Middlesex are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1920 and 1950, then more than doubled.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Middlesex’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Middlesex’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
People over time

Middlesex, census by census

02004006008001,000192019401960198020002020697 in 1920Low: 446

Lost a third of its people between 1920 and 1950, then more than doubled.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story so far

Middlesex, in brief

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

Middlesex is a town in Nash County, North Carolina, United States. It is part of the Rocky Mount, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. Middlesex is about 25 miles east of Raleigh. As of the 2020 census, Middlesex had a population of 912.

Its first post office opened in 1908. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 822 to 912 (+11%).

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

Timeline

Middlesex, 1902 to 2020

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1902On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1908Post officeThe Middlesex post office opens
  4. 1913Born hereSam Narron is born here
  5. 21st century
  6. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 912
By decade

Middlesex, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Middlesex, North Carolina 032019Middlesex, North Carolina 03Middlesex, North Carolina 022019Middlesex, North Carolina 02Middlesex, North Carolina 012019Middlesex, North Carolina 01NCMap-doton-Middlesex2004NCMap-doton-Middlesex
On the map

Middlesex on the map, 1902 to 1978

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

Middlesex on the 1902 USGS mapMiddlesex on the 1978 USGS map1902Spring Hope sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Middlesex.

Questions about Middlesex’s history

What year was Middlesex founded?

The Middlesex post office opened in 1908, 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 →
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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 (4), 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.