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B−History
History · Princeton

Princeton dates to 1861, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 45% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Princeton was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Its Register listings are the Hastings-McKinnie House, the Princeton Graded School and the Wood-Rains Cotton Gin. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1974 on, and the census since 1890.

1861founded
3on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Princeton’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Princeton began

When was Princeton founded?

1861

Princeton dates its founding to 1861 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 248 in 18902020 census: 1,315165 years

How historic is Princeton?

B−

More historic than 45% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1834.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Princeton’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Princeton is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Princeton’s overall grade.
Founding era1861, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19408.3% of homes (±5.0) · typical NC town 4.1% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register3 listings, 18.1 per 10,000 residents · typical NC town 12.5 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 45%
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 Princeton’s 18.1 sits near the middle of its state (59% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±5.0 points). Two sources give 1861.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Princeton’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Princeton’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewPrincetonschool: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Princeton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Princeton.

Read it all →

Princeton was incorporated as the town of Boon Hill in 1861, named in homage to the nearby Boon family plantation. It was renamed Princeton in 1873. In 1914 the Gurley Mill was constructed as a corn and feed mill. By 2020 it was the oldest structure in Princeton, until it burned down in November. The Princeton Graded School is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Princeton, 1834 to 1974

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1834Post officeThe Boonhill post office opens
  3. 1861
    FoundingPrinceton is established
  4. 1873Post officeThe Boonhill post office closes
  5. 1873Post officeThe Princeton post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1974On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Princeton, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
PrincetonschoolDate?Princetonschool
Today4 recent
Princeton Graded School2020Princeton Graded SchoolPrinceton, North Carolina2019Princeton, North CarolinaOld Gurley Mill2019Old Gurley MillNCMap-doton-Princeton2004NCMap-doton-Princeton
On the map

Princeton on the map, 1974 to 1986

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

Princeton on the 1974 USGS mapPrinceton on the 1986 USGS map1974Princeton 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 Princeton.

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.

Princetonschool
Retake this viewPrincetonschool

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Princeton

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1983
Hastings-McKinnie House
Hastings-McKinnie HousePrinceton Graded SchoolWood-Rains Cotton Gin
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Federal1
Rosenwald School1
Hastings-McKinnie HouseFederal
Princeton Graded SchoolRosenwald School
All 3 listings
Wood-Rains Cotton GinBuilding · listed 2023

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

People over time

Princeton, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,40019001920194019601980200020201,315

Grew from 248 people in 1890 to 1,315 in 2020, 5 times over.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Princeton’s post office has been open since 1873. Another post office, Boonhill, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Boonhill
1834–1873
Princeton
1873–today
18301930today

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

Questions about Princeton’s history

What year was Princeton founded?

In 1861, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Princeton’s post office opened in 1834, and the census of 1890 counted 248 people here.

How does Princeton rank for history?

Princeton is more historic than 45% 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 Princeton?

Three places: the Hastings-McKinnie House (listed 1983), the Princeton Graded School (2005) and the Wood-Rains Cotton Gin (2023).

How old are the homes in Princeton?

8% of Princeton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.0 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1977.

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 (5), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.