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History · Rowland

Rowland’s post office opened in 1888, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

Most of Rowland was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1970. 3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 35 buildings. Below: maps from 1919 on and the census since 1890.

1888first post office
3on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Rowland began

When was Rowland founded?

1888

The Rowland post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 72 in 18902020 census: 885138 years
Founding year: the first Rowland post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Rowland’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Rowland are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Rowland Main Street Historic District takes in 35 historic buildings.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,841 in 1980; 885 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Rowland’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

3 listings protect 40 historic buildings

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
40
each building in a district counts
first listed
1982
Ashpole Presbyterian Church
Ashpole Presbyterian Church, built 1865Rowland DepotRowland Main Street Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
Doric1
Victorian1
Gothic1
Unknown1
Commercial style1
Ashpole Presbyterian ChurchGreek Revival · Built 1865
Rowland DepotUnknown
Rowland Main Street Historic DistrictCommercial style

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

People over time

Rowland, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,841

Peaked at 1,841 in 1980; 885 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

The story

How Rowland came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Rowland.

Read it all →

The congregation of the Ashpole Presbyterian Church was founded in the eventual bounds of the community in 1796. Rowland was incorporated in 1889 and named in honor of Alfred Rowland. The first brick building in the town, a hotel and store, was erected in 1892. Rowland served as a key market for regional tobacco production until the sector declined in the 1970s. By the mid-2000s the downtown was in physical decline, though by 2015 work had been done to clean up the main thoroughfare and maintain its buildings. The Ashpole Presbyterian Church, Centenary Methodist Church, Rowland Depot, and Rowland Main Street Historic District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Rowland, 1865 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1865BuiltAshpole Presbyterian Church is built
  3. 1888Post officeThe Rowland post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1935Born hereDonald A. Bonner is born here
  6. 1972On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 1,841
By decade

Rowland, decade by decade

Today10 recent
Rowland, North Carolina2020Rowland, North CarolinaROWLAND MAIN STREET HISTORIC DISTRICT2020ROWLAND MAIN STREET HISTORIC DISTRICTAbandoned Resturaunt NC-SC Border August 20132013Abandoned Resturaunt NC-SC Border August 2013Abandoned Motel NC-SC Border August 20132013Abandoned Motel NC-SC Border August 2013South of the Boarder2011South of the BoarderSouth of the Boarder - panoramio (1)2011South of the Boarder - panoramio (1)Rowland, NC 28383, USA2011Rowland, NC 28383, USAForgotten Fun2011Forgotten FunRowland Downtown2008Rowland DowntownNCMap-doton-Rowland2004NCMap-doton-Rowland
On the map

Rowland on the map, 1972 to 1997

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

Rowland on the 1972 USGS mapRowland on the 1982 USGS mapRowland on the 1997 USGS map1972Rowland 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 Rowland.

Every building

Rowland, building by building, 1919

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 sheet.

Rowland fire insurance map, 1919, sheet 11919Sheet 1 of 3
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Questions about Rowland’s history

What year was Rowland founded?

The Rowland post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Rowland?

Three places: the Ashpole Presbyterian Church (listed 1982), the Rowland Depot (2001) and the Rowland Main Street Historic District (2005).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (10), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.