The story
Read it all →How Red Oak came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Red Oak.
Black Jack and the Red Oak Community House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
C+History
History · Red Oak
Red Oak’s post office opened in 1878, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 40% of U.S. towns · #152 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
Most of Red Oak was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. Its Register listings are the Red Oak Community House and the Black Jack. Below: maps from 1963 on and the census since 1970.
1878first post office
2on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Red Oak began
When was Red Oak founded?
1878
The Red Oak post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 359 in 19702020 census: 3,342148 years
How historic is Red Oak?
C+
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 40% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Red Oak post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Red Oak’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Red Oak is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns, #152 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 Red Oak’s overall grade.
Founding era1878, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19406.6% of homes (±6.3) · typical NC town 4.1% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register2 listings, 3 historic buildings, 8.8 per 10,000 residents · typical NC town 12.5 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 40%
NewerOlder
North Carolina towns of 2,500+ (290)Ahead of 48%
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 Red Oak’s 8.8 sits near the middle of its state (52% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings 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 (±6.3 points). 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 Red Oak’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 Red Oak’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Red Oak’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Places that used to be
Places now gone and burying grounds
Red Oak’s post office has been open since 1878.
Gone or out of use
Ellens StorelocaleHilliards Storelocale
16cemeteries and burying grounds inside Red Oak
CappsCappsGriffinGriffinHalesHilliardHilliardHuntJonesJonesMayRed OakSaint JohnsVaughanWhitfieldWhitley
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
By decade
Red Oak, decade by decade
2019
2019
2019
2004On the map
Red Oak on the map, 1963 to 1985
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Red Oak. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1963Red Oak sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Red Oak.
On the National Register
2 historic places in Red Oak
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1974
Black Jack
Buildings
Architectural styles listings
Rustic Revival1
Georgian1
All 2 listings
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Red Oak, census by census
Between 280 and 3,430 people in every census since 1970.
6 censuses, 1970–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Red Oak’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Red Oak
Nobody well known was born in Red Oak itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Red Oak’s history
What year was Red Oak founded?
The Red Oak post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Red Oak rank for history?
Red Oak is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns, #152 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 Red Oak?
Two places: the Red Oak Community House (listed 2006) and the Black Jack (1974).
How old are the homes in Red Oak?
7% of Red Oak’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.3 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1990.
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 Wikimedia Commons (4), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.