Midland dates to 1913, and 3 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 24% of U.S. towns · #189 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
Most of Midland was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2010. 3 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 17 buildings between them. Below: maps from 1985 on.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1868.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Midland’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Midland is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #189 of 290 in North Carolina. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Midland’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 Midland’s 35.0 sits above most of its state (66% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 17 historic buildings outnumber those of 79% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C+. The pre-1940 share (±2.2 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1913.
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 Midland’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Midland began as a railroad town about 1913 with the arrival of rail service via the North Carolina Railroad (NCRR). Prior to this, a community named Garmon existed in the area (a few miles to the east) around the Garmon Mill begun by Michael Garmon in the late-1700s, and Garmon appears on an 1864 map of North Carolina. Another community located to the west, Cabarrus Station, also predated Midland as a railroad stop, and is now within the town's municipal limits. Midland was incorporated in 2000.
In 1913, according to Wikidata. Midland’s post office opened in 1868.
How does Midland rank for history?
Midland is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #189 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 Midland?
Three places: the Robert Harvey Morrison Farm and Pioneer Mills Gold Mine (listed 1990), the Bethel Church Arbor (1997) and the John Bunyan Green Farm (1988).
How old are the homes in Midland?
2% of Midland’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 2010.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
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