Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 16% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Pinetops was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. Below: maps from 1902 on and the census since 1910.
The Pinetops post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 16% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pinetops is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
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 Pinetops’ 0.0 sits below most of its state (19% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pinetops’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Pinetops. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Pinetops.
From Wikipedia’s history of Pinetops.
The historic plantation house of Vinedale was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. Another historic plantation house, Adelphia, is located near Pinetops.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Pinetops, cut from the printed page as they were published.
In the spring of 1911 the missionary and church endeavor of the Presbyterians resulted in the establishment of a Sunday school at Pinetops. A revival meeting had been held in Pinetops sometime previous to this by Reverend G. W. Beck and the result of the revival showed the good accomplished. In the fall of the same year a church was organized, with Benjamin Brown and E. Y. Lovelace as elders, and L. W. and J. A. Wiggins as deacons.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Between 211 and 1,514 people in every census since 1910.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Pinetops’ Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
The Pinetops post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Pinetops is more historic than 16% 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.
10% of Pinetops’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.5 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1973.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (3), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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