Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 58% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Its Register listing is the Deep River-Columbia Manufacturing Company. Below: maps from 1968 on and the census since 1900.
The Ramseur post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 58% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ramseur is more historic than 58% 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 Ramseur’s 14.0 sits near the middle of its state (57% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% 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 Ramseur’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Ramseur.
Ramseur was named for Stephen Dodson Ramseur, a Confederate major general of the Civil War.
The Deep River-Columbia Manufacturing Company was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Ramseur, cut from the printed page as they were published.
was commenced on the night of the 19th; Ramseur's division being sent to Winchester to cover that place against Averill. Vaughns and Jackson's cavalry had been watching AveriU, and on the afternoon of the 20th it was reported to General Ramseur that Averill was at Stephenson's depot, with an inferior force, which could be captured, and Ramseur moved out from Winchester to attack him.
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.
Born hereB. Everett Jordan is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
Born hereHeidi N Closet is born hereEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Ramseur. 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 Ramseur.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Grew from 769 people in 1900 to 1,774 in 2020.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Ramseur’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Ramseur post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Ramseur is more historic than 58% 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.
One place: the Deep River-Columbia Manufacturing Company (listed 1978).
18% of Ramseur’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.3 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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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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