Most of Stoneville was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1971 on, and the census since 1880.
The Stoneville post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1877. Another post office, Mayo (1821), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 100 in 18802020 census: 1,308157 years
How historic is Stoneville?
C−
More historic than 24% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Stoneville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1877.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Stoneville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Stoneville is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Stoneville’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 Stoneville’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 (±4.6 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1877 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 Stoneville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Settlers came to the ridge between the Mayo and Dan rivers in the northwest Piedmont region in the early 1800s. In 1827, the Deep Springs Plantation was built for James Madison Scales and his wife Elizabeth Lesuer in what is now Stoneville. In 1843, the R. H. Lewis Tobacco company was established in the south side of the land that became Stoneville. In the late 1850s, brothers Thomas and Pinkney Stone bought land in the area. On March 5, 1877, the town was officially incorporated. A natural stop on the Norfolk-Western rail line, Stoneville became the trade hub for the surrounding localities and profited off of tobacco, cotton and grist-milling industries.
Stoneville’s post office has been open since 1869. Another post office, Mayo, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Mayo
1821–1904
Stoneville
1869–today
18201920today
1cemetery inside Stoneville
Stoneville Municipal
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Stoneville’s history
What year was Stoneville founded?
The Stoneville post office opened in 1869, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1877.
How does Stoneville rank for history?
Stoneville is more historic than 24% 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 Stoneville?
8% of Stoneville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.6 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1975.
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 (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) 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.
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