Roxboro’s post office opened in 1806, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 82% of U.S. towns · #45 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
5 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 49 buildings. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1880.
The Roxboro post office opened in 1806, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1855. Two smaller post offices, Person Court House (1795) and Jalong (1913), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 483 in 18802020 census: 8,134220 years
How historic is Roxboro?
A−
More historic than 82% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Roxboro post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1855.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Roxboro’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Roxboro is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #45 of 290 in North Carolina. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Roxboro’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 Roxboro’s 66.0 sits above most of its state (70% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 54 historic buildings outnumber those of 85% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±5.0 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1855.
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 Roxboro’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.
Every building
Roxboro, building by building, 1894–1914
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.
Roxboro is named after a town in Scotland, Roxburgh. Although spelled differently, they are pronounced the same. Prior to the official adoption of the name Roxboro, the community was known as "Mocassin Gap". The city of Roxboro was incorporated on January 9, 1855, and remains the only municipality in Person County.
The Holloway-Jones-Day House, House on Wagstaff Farm, James A. and Laura Thompson Long House, Merritt-Winstead House, Person County Courthouse, Roxboro Commercial Historic District, Roxboro Cotton Mill, and Roxboro Male Academy and Methodist Parsonage are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Governor William W. and Musette Satterfield Kitchin House is the main building of the Person County Museum of History.
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 Roxboro post office opened in 1806, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1855.
How does Roxboro rank for history?
Roxboro is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #45 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 Roxboro?
5 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Person County Courthouse (listed 1979, the first), and 1 historic district, the Roxboro Commercial Historic District, with 49 contributing buildings. 54 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Roxboro?
14% of Roxboro’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 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 (1), the Library of Congress (4), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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.
1935
1937
1939
