Reidsville’s post office opened in 1829, and 10 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 82% of U.S. towns · #44 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
Most of Reidsville was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1967. 10 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 349 buildings between them. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Reidsville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1873.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Reidsville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Reidsville is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #44 of 290 in North Carolina. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Reidsville’s overall grade.
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 Reidsville’s 250 sits above most of its state (87% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 365 historic buildings outnumber those of 96% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share (±2.5 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1873.
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 Reidsville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Places that used to be
Old corners and burying grounds
Reidsville’s post office has been open since 1829.
Hamlets and corners on the map
BelmontCambridgeCourtland ParkForest HillsHill View AcresOak HillsTrentwoodVillage OaksWomack CourtsWoodland Park
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Reidsville
GreenviewReidlawn
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Every building
Reidsville, building by building, 1885–1922
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
The roots of Reidsville date back to the early 19th century when William Wright of the Little Troublesome Creek area owned a tavern and store on the road connecting Danville and Salem. This outpost, called Wright's Crossroads, was the earliest settlement in the present-day city and was overseen by Wright's son, Nathan, and then Nathan Wright's son-in-law, Robert Payne Richardson. Richardson's home, built in 1842 on a knoll overlooking Little Troublesome Creek, still remains on Richardson Drive and has the distinction of being the oldest standing house in the city.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
The Reidsville post office opened in 1829, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1873.
How does Reidsville rank for history?
Reidsville is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #44 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 Reidsville?
10 listings: 7 buildings, among them the Gov. David S. Reid House (listed 1974, the first), and 3 historic districts, the Chinqua-Penn Plantation, the Richardson Houses Historic District and the Reidsville Historic District, with 349 contributing buildings. 365 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Reidsville?
9% of Reidsville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.5 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1967.
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), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (10), 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1923
