Most of Stanfield was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992. Below: maps from 1971 on and the census since 1960.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1915.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Stanfield’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Stanfield is more historic than 14% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Stanfield’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 Stanfield’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.
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). Two sources give 1912.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Stanfield’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In 1912 the railroad line between Charlotte and Raleigh was completed, and the town of Stanfield was established. The town was named after an engineer who helped complete the railroad through the present day town. Once the rail line was completed, the mail was delivered by train to Stanfield, thus moving the post office from Locust to Stanfield. Three local area schools were combined to create Stanfield School. Pete Henkel Park was created in the 1970s. Today, Stanfield School is now Stanfield Elementary School that runs pre-k through the 5th grade, and the students then go to West Stanly High School in Red Cross, Stanly Early College in Albemarle or to Gray Stone Day School in Misenheimer.
In 1912, according to Wikidata. Stanfield’s post office opened in 1915, and the census of 1960 counted 471 people here.
How does Stanfield rank for history?
Stanfield is more historic than 14% 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 Stanfield?
8% of Stanfield’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 1992.
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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.
