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B+History
History · Selma

Selma’s post office opened in 1867, and 10% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 66% of U.S. towns · #89 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it

8 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 276 buildings between them. Below: maps from 1905 on and the census since 1880.

1867first post office
8on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Selma began

When was Selma founded?

1867

The Selma post office opened in 1867, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1873. Another post office, Easons (1900), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 256 in 18802020 census: 6,317159 years

How historic is Selma?

B+

More historic than 66% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Selma post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1873.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Selma’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Selma is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #89 of 290 in North Carolina. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Selma’s overall grade.
Founding era1867, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194010.1% of homes (±5.4) · typical NC town 4.1% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register8 listings, 289 historic buildings, 424 per 10,000 residents · typical NC town 12.5 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 66%
NewerOlder
North Carolina towns of 2,500+ (290)Ahead of 70%

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 Selma’s 424 sits above most of its state (93% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 289 historic buildings outnumber those of 95% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1873 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

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 Selma’s past

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

A historic districtThe West Selma Historic District takes in 217 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Selma are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1905 to 1923, drew every building in Selma.Landmarks on the Register8 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

8 listings protect 289 historic buildings

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

places listed
8
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
289
each building in a district counts
first listed
1982
Noah Edward Edgerton House
Noah Edward Edgerton HouseNowell-Mayerburg-Oliver HouseUnion Station, built 1924William E. Smith House, built 1912West Selma Historic DistrictEveritt P. Stevens House, built 1850Downtown Selma Historic DistrictHarrison, Richard B., School, built 1955
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Queen Anne3
Gothic Revival2
Colonial Revival2
Neo-Classical1
Bungalow/Craftsman1
Ranch1
Noah Edward Edgerton HouseQueen Anne
Nowell-Mayerburg-Oliver HouseQueen Anne
Union StationBuilt 1924
William E. Smith HouseNeo-Classical · Built 1912
West Selma Historic DistrictBungalow/Craftsman
All 8 listings
Everitt P. Stevens HouseBuilding · listed 1982Downtown Selma Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2010Harrison, Richard B., SchoolBuilding · listed 2012

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

Help out

Start Selma’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Selma’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
Every building

Selma, building by building, 1905–1923

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.

Selma fire insurance map, 1905, sheet 11905Sheet 1 of 3
Edition
BrickWoodStone

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

The story

How Selma came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Selma.

Read it all →

On May 1, 1867, lots were sold around a newly established station on the North Carolina Railroad. From those lots, the town was built and considered a railroad town for many decades. Selma was officially chartered as a town on February 11, 1873. The town recently renovated its 1924 passenger depot, which has Amtrak service. The town is also home to the Mitchener Station, which was built in 1855, and is thought to be the oldest surviving train station in North Carolina. After Interstate 95 was built in the late 1950s, the town experienced growth due to its location next to the interstate. Today, many hotels and restaurants are located in the area due to the traffic from I-95.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Selma, 1850 to 1991

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850BuiltEveritt P. Stevens House is built
  3. 1867Post officeThe Selma post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1900Post officeThe Easons post office opens
  6. 1903Post officeThe Easons post office closes
  7. 1912BuiltWilliam E. Smith House is built
  8. 1924BuiltUnion Station is built
  9. 1955BuiltHarrison, Richard B., School is built
  10. 1964On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1991Born hereMaDrique is born here
By decade

Selma, decade by decade

Today15 recent
Stancil Oil Country Store; Selma, NC-12019Stancil Oil Country Store; Selma, NC-1Selma, North Carolina2019Selma, North CarolinaSB US 301; JCT NC 39 in2019SB US 301; JCT NC 39 inSB US 301-NC 39; N End NC 96 Overlap;2019SB US 301-NC 39; N End NC 96 Overlap;SB US 301-NC 39; Jct NC 96;2019SB US 301-NC 39; Jct NC 96;SB US 301-NC 39-96 approaching US 70 in2019SB US 301-NC 39-96 approaching US 70 inSB US 301-NC 39-96 @ Noble Street in2019SB US 301-NC 39-96 @ Noble Street inUntitled photo2019Untitled photoSelma, NC Fireman's License Plate2017Selma, NC Fireman's License PlateRailyard Oct 20132013Railyard Oct 2013Rail served industry Oct 20132013Rail served industry Oct 2013Oct 2013 Railserved industry2013Oct 2013 Railserved industryOct 2013 Railroad view2013Oct 2013 Railroad viewOct 20132013Oct 2013NCMap-doton-Selma2004NCMap-doton-Selma
On the map

Selma on the map, 1964 to 1998

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

Selma on the 1964 USGS mapSelma on the 1973 USGS mapSelma on the 1998 USGS map1964Selma 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 Selma.

People over time

Selma, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,5007,000188019001920194019601980200020206,317

Grew from 256 people in 1880 to 6,317 in 2020, more than tenfold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Selma’s post office has been open since 1867. Another post office, Easons, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Selma
1867–today
Easons
1900–1903
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Noble HillsRedwood Village
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Selma
EasonSelma Memorial Gardens

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Smithfield9 historic placesA−Pine LevelIts storyC+

Questions about Selma’s history

What year was Selma founded?

The Selma post office opened in 1867, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1873.

How does Selma rank for history?

Selma is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #89 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 Selma?

8 listings: 6 buildings, among them the Noah Edward Edgerton House (listed 1982, the first), and 2 historic districts, the West Selma Historic District and the Downtown Selma Historic District, with 276 contributing buildings. 289 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Selma?

10% of Selma’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.4 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1974.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (15), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (8), 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.