Most of Southmont was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1995. Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1962 on.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1883.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Southmont’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Southmont is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Southmont’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 Southmont’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (19% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1883.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.1 points).
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Southmont’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The community was founded in 1883 as "Fairmont" with the approval of a post office. The postmaster was Samuel S. Peacock from April 19, 1883, until it closed August 30, 1906. It was located in a country store operated by Mr. Hedrick near where the railroad crosses Hwy 8 today. Within 10 years, however, the community had failed to thrive and the store closed, with the post office surrendering its charter.
Southmont’s post office has been open since 1911. Another post office, Fairmont, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Fairmont
1883–1906
Southmont
1911–today
18801950today
Gone or out of use
Hicks Ferrylocale
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Southmont’s history
What year was Southmont founded?
In 1883, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Southmont’s post office opened in 1883.
How does Southmont rank for history?
Southmont is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns. 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.
How old are the homes in Southmont?
3% of Southmont’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1995.
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 the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
Date?
