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C+History
History · Pineville

Pineville’s post office opened in 1852, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 42% of U.S. towns · #148 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 92 buildings between them. Most of Pineville was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1999. Below: maps from 1905 on and the census since 1900.

1852first post office
2on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Pineville began

When was Pineville founded?

1852

The Pineville post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 585 in 19002020 census: 10,602174 years

How historic is Pineville?

C+

More historic than 42% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Pineville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pineville is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns, #148 of 290 in North Carolina. 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 Pineville’s overall grade.
Founding era1852, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19401.8% of homes (±1.0) · typical NC town 4.1% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register2 listings, 92 historic buildings, 83.2 per 10,000 residents · typical NC town 12.5 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 42%
NewerOlder
North Carolina towns of 2,500+ (290)Ahead of 49%

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 Pineville’s 83.2 sits above most of its state (73% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 92 historic buildings outnumber those of 89% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share (±1.0 points) is firm at this size. 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 Pineville’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 Pineville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Pineville Mill Village Historic District takes in 77 historic buildings.On the map since 19054 editions of the USGS map, 1905 to 1993. Watch Pineville change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Pineville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pineville’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
On the National Register

2 listings protect 92 historic buildings

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
92
each building in a district counts
first listed
2011
Pineville Commercial Historic District
Pineville Commercial Historic DistrictPineville Mill Village Historic District
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Italianate1
Commercial Style1
Modern Movement1
Bungalow/Craftsman1
T-plan Mill House1
Hip-Roofed Mill House1
Pineville Commercial Historic DistrictItalianate
All 2 listings
Pineville Mill Village Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2011

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

On the map

Pineville on the map, 1905 to 1993

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

Pineville on the 1905 USGS mapPineville on the 1968 USGS mapPineville on the 1980 USGS mapPineville on the 1993 USGS map1905Charlotte 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 Pineville.

The story

How Pineville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Pineville.

Read it all →

Prior to its incorporation in 1873, Pineville, originally named Morrow's Turnout, was located at the intersection of two major Native American trading routes; it had vast meadows in which the animals of trade and transportation could be "turned-out" to pasture. The location served as a mule trading center in addition to a stop for stagecoaches and, later, the Charlotte & Columbia Railroad.

Around 1852, Morrow's Turnout was renamed Pineville, after the large stands of pine trees in the area.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Pineville in 1903

Passages that mention Pineville, cut from the printed page as they were published.

The history of the town of Pineville begins with the year 1852. In that year the railroad was completed to that point and a depot and store were established. The town was incorporated in 1873 with four commissioners: A. C. Williams, John W. Morrow, W. L. Wallis, and Samuel Younts.
History of Mecklenburg County and the city of Charlotte1903Read the page →
Read the text

The history of the town of Pineville begins with the year 1852. In that year the railroad was completed to that point and a depot and store were established. The town was incorporated in 1873 with four commissioners: A. C. Williams, John W. Morrow, W. L. Wallis, and Samuel Younts.

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.

Timeline

Pineville, 1795 to 2000

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1795Born hereJames K. Polk is born here
  3. 19th century
  4. 1852Post officeThe Pineville post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1905On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1954Born hereWalter Davis is born here
  8. 1988Born hereLauren Cholewinski is born here
  9. 21st century
  10. 2000Born hereD. J. Carton is born here
By decade

Pineville, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Bi-Lo Pineville, NC 212018Bi-Lo Pineville, NC 21July 4th 2013 Pineville, NC Railroad siding2013July 4th 2013 Pineville, NC Railroad sidingJuly 4th 2013 Pineville, NC Railroad Crossing2013July 4th 2013 Pineville, NC Railroad CrossingMain Street2012Main Street
People over time

Pineville, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,000190019201940196019802000202010,602

Grew from 585 people in 1900 to 10,602 in 2020, more than tenfold.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Pineville

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
James K. PolkPresident of the United States from 1845 to 1849 · b. 1795
Walter DavisAmerican basketball player · b. 1954
D. J. CartonAmerican basketball player · b. 2000
L
Lauren CholewinskiAmerican speed skater · b. 1988
J
Julianna CannamelaAmerican gymnast · b. 1997
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Pineville’s post office has been open since 1852.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Eden GardensFalcon BridgeRavenwood
Gone or out of use
Mercy Hospital Medical Parkhospital
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Pineville
Lawrence Chapel Presbyterian ChurchSaint Johns Church

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Charlotte85 historic placesA−

Questions about Pineville’s history

What year was Pineville founded?

The Pineville post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Pineville rank for history?

Pineville is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns, #148 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 Pineville?

Two places: the Pineville Commercial Historic District (listed 2011) and the Pineville Mill Village Historic District (2011).

How old are the homes in Pineville?

2% of Pineville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.0 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1999.

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 (4), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.