Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Moncure

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
CHistory
History · Moncure

Moncure’s post office opened in 1877, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 30% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Moncure was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1993. Its Register listing is the Lockville Dam, Canal and Powerhouse. Below: 9 old photos and papers and maps from 1970 on.

1877first post office
1on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
9old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Moncure’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Moncure began

When was Moncure founded?

1877

The Moncure post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Haywood (1814), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 780149 years

How historic is Moncure?

C

More historic than 30% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Moncure’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Moncure is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Moncure’s overall grade.
Founding era1877, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19403.1% of homes (±4.4) · typical NC town 4.1% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register1 listing, 9.6 per 10,000 residents · typical NC town 12.5 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 30%
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 Moncure’s 9.6 sits near the middle of its state (52% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.4 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 Moncure’s past

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

Mystery photos7 old photos have no date. Neighbors can guess the decade.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Moncure’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo7 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewDEEP RIVER, VIEW, LOOKING EAST (DOWNSTR…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Moncure came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Moncure.

Read it all →

Moncure was founded in 1881 by Thomas Jefferson Moncure, Benjamin Gunter Womble (February 17, 1841 – February 15, 1916), Jake Wisseler, and James Everett Bryan. Thomas Moncure was an engineer for what became the Seaboard Air Line Railroad. Benjamin Womble was a Confederate veteran, owner of the Womble Hotel, and first postmaster of Moncure for 30 years. The old post office now resides on the Womble property that has been continuously owned by his family.

The Newkirk State (Site 3lCH366) and Lockville Dam, Canal and Powerhouse are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Moncure, 1814 to 1970

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1814Post officeThe Haywood post office opens
  3. 1855BuiltLockville Dam, Canal and Powerhouse is built
  4. 1877Post officeThe Moncure post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1937Post officeThe Haywood post office closes
  7. 1968In the archiveDEEP RIVER, VIEW, LOOKING EAST (DOWNSTREAM) FROM U.S. ROUTE 1 BRIDGE; OLD BRIDGE PILINGS …
  8. 1970On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Moncure, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1960s2 items
DEEP RIVER, VIEW, LOOKING EAST (DOWNSTREAM) FROM U.S. ROUTE 1 BRIDGE; OLD BRIDGE PILINGS - Lockville Hydroelectric Plan…1968DEEP RIVER, VIEW, LOOKING EAST (DOWNSTREAM) FROM U.S.…DEEP RIVER, VIEW, LOOKING WEST, FROM S.R. 1011 BRIDGE - Lockville Hydroelectric Plant, Deep River, 3.5 miles upstream f…1968DEEP RIVER, VIEW, LOOKING WEST, FROM S.R. 1011 BRIDGE…
1970s–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
Date unknown7 to date
VIEW OF CANAL, LOOKING TOWARDS WEST ELEVATION OF POWERHOUSE - Lockville Hydroelectric Plant, Deep River, 3.5 miles upst…Date?VIEW OF CANAL, LOOKING TOWARDS WEST ELEVATION OF POWE…VIEW OF FALLS AT DAM FROM NORTH BANK OF DEEP RIVER - Lockville Hydroelectric Plant, Deep River, 3.5 miles upstream from…Date?VIEW OF FALLS AT DAM FROM NORTH BANK OF DEEP RIVER - …VIEW OF FALLS AT DAM, VIEW LOOKING WEST (UPSTREAM FROM U.S. 1 BRIDGE) - Lockville Hydroelectric Plant, Deep River, 3.5 …Date?VIEW OF FALLS AT DAM, VIEW LOOKING WEST (UPSTREAM FRO…VIEW OF FALLS FROM NORTH BANK OF THE RIVER - Lockville Hydroelectric Plant, Deep River, 3.5 miles upstream from Haw Riv…Date?VIEW OF FALLS FROM NORTH BANK OF THE RIVER - Lockvill…VIEW OF MASONRY RETAINING WALLS ON SOUTH SIDE OF CANAL AT POWERHOUSE - Lockville Hydroelectric Plant, Deep River, 3.5 m…Date?VIEW OF MASONRY RETAINING WALLS ON SOUTH SIDE OF CANA…VIEW OF NORTH AND WEST ELEVATIONS OF POWERHOUSE FROM NORTH SIDE OF DEEP RIVER - Lockville Hydroelectric Plant, Deep Riv…Date?VIEW OF NORTH AND WEST ELEVATIONS OF POWERHOUSE FROM …VIEW OF SLUICE GATE AT DAM - Lockville Hydroelectric Plant, Deep River, 3.5 miles upstream from Haw RiverDate?VIEW OF SLUICE GATE AT DAM - Lockville Hydroelectric …
Today3 recent
Moncure, North Carolina2019Moncure, North CarolinaOrphaned2014OrphanedMothballed2014Mothballed
On the map

Moncure on the map, 1970 to 1993

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

Moncure on the 1970 USGS mapMoncure on the 1981 USGS mapMoncure on the 1993 USGS map1970Moncure 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 Moncure.

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.

DEEP RIVER, VIEW, LOOKING EAST (DOWNSTREAM) FROM U.S. ROUTE 1 BRIDGE; OLD BRIDGE PILINGS - Lockville Hydroelectric Plan…
Retake this viewDEEP RIVER, VIEW, LOOKING EAST (DOWNSTREAM) FROM U.S. ROUTE 1 BRIDGE; OLD BRIDGE PILINGS - Lockville Hydroelectric Plan…, 1968

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Moncure

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1984
Lockville Dam, Canal and Powerhouse
Lockville Dam, Canal and Powerhouse, built 1855
Structures
Lockville Dam, Canal and PowerhouseBuilt 1855

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Moncure

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

See all →
J
Jeff HardyAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1977
Fred BrooksAmerican computer scientist (1931–2022); author… · b. 1931
M
Matt HardyAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1974
James Buchanan DukeAmerican businessman · b. 1856
Seth WescottAmerican snowboarder · b. 1976
Loudon Wainwright IIIAmerican singer-songwriter, humorist, and actor · b. 1946
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Moncure’s post office has been open since 1877. Another post office, Haywood, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Haywood
1814–1937
Moncure
1877–today
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Haywood

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Moncure’s history

What year was Moncure founded?

The Moncure post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Moncure rank for history?

Moncure is more historic than 30% 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 Moncure?

One place: the Lockville Dam, Canal and Powerhouse (listed 1984).

How old are the homes in Moncure?

3% of Moncure’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.4 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1993.

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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.