The story
Read it all →How Porters Neck came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Porters Neck.
William B. Gould was enslaved on Nicholas Nixon's plantation on Porters Neck before escaping in 1862.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Poplar Grove · Photo: BSLRed · CC BY-SA 3.0D−History
History · Porters Neck
Half of Porters Neck’s homes were built after 2003
More historic than 2% of U.S. towns · #261 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
Most of Porters Neck was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2003. Below: maps from 1947 on.
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
About Porters Neck’s history
How historic is Porters Neck?
D−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 2% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
History grade
What drives Porters Neck’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Porters Neck is more historic than 2% of U.S. towns, #261 of 290 in North Carolina. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Porters Neck’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19400.0% of homes (±0.5) · typical NC town 4.1% · U.S. 8.4%D−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical NC town 12.5 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 2%
NewerOlder
North Carolina towns of 2,500+ (290)Ahead of 10%
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 Porters Neck’s 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.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±0.5 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: our sources. 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 Porters Neck’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Porters Neck’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Porters Neck’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your albumOn the map
Porters Neck on the map, 1947 to 1997
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Porters Neck. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1947Rocky Point sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Porters Neck.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Porters Neck
Nobody well known was born in Porters Neck itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
S
Samm-Art WilliamsAmerican playwright and screenwriter · b. 1946
Places that used to be
Old corners
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Hamlets and corners on the map
KirklandPorters Neck PlantationShell Bank
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.
Questions about Porters Neck’s history
How does Porters Neck rank for history?
Porters Neck is more historic than 2% of U.S. towns, #261 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.
How old are the homes in Porters Neck?
0.0% of Porters Neck’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 2003.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.