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BHistory
History · Swansboro

Swansboro dates to 1783, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 59% of U.S. towns · #108 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it

Most of Swansboro was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2002. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 74 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1942 on, and the census since 1850.

1783founded
2on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Swansboro’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Swansboro began

When was Swansboro founded?

1783

Swansboro dates its founding to 1783 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1850.

First census: 801 in 18502020 census: 3,744243 years

How historic is Swansboro?

B

More historic than 59% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1799.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Swansboro’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Swansboro is more historic than 59% of U.S. towns, #108 of 290 in North Carolina. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Swansboro’s overall grade.
Founding era1783, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19400.0% of homes (±0.8) · typical NC town 4.1% · U.S. 8.4%D−National Register2 listings, 76 historic buildings, 190 per 10,000 residents · typical NC town 12.5 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 59%
NewerOlder
North Carolina towns of 2,500+ (290)Ahead of 63%

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 Swansboro’s 190 sits above most of its state (84% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 76 historic buildings outnumber those of 88% 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 (±0.8 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1783.

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 Swansboro’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1850 and 1880, then grew more than tenfold.A historic districtThe Swansboro Historic District takes in 74 historic buildings.Deep rootsEstablished in 1783: 243 years of Swansboro.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Swansboro’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Swansboro’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewHABS NC,67-SWAN,1- (sheet 6 of 7) - Wil…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Swansboro, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0001850190019502000801 in 1850Low: 128

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1850 and 1880, then grew more than tenfold.

17 censuses, 1850–2020.

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

On the National Register

2 listings protect 76 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
76
each building in a district counts
first listed
1989
William Edward Mattocks House
William Edward Mattocks House, built 1931Swansboro Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Colonial Revival1
Late Victorian Millwork1
Coastal Plain Cottage1
Federal1
Greek Revival1
Bungalow1
All 2 listings
William Edward Mattocks HouseBuilding · listed 1989Swansboro Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1990

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

The story

How Swansboro came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Swansboro.

Read it all →

Swansboro started as a settlement around the plantation of Theophilus Weeks. In 1783, Swansboro was incorporated as a town, taking its name from Samuel Swann, a Speaker in the North Carolina House of Commons and a resident of Onslow County. In 1818, Otway Burns built the Prometheus, the first river steamboat constructed in North Carolina.

The town, originally spelled Swannsborough, is sometimes called "The Friendly City by the Sea". M.N. Lisk, a popular Swansboro mayor, initiated the annual Mullet Festival, one of the first coastal seafood festivals in North Carolina.

The town is featured as the setting of Nicholas Sparks' novel The Guardian.

The Swansboro Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Swansboro, 1783 to 2020

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1783
    FoundingSwansboro is established
  3. 1799Post officeThe Swanboro post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1931BuiltWilliam Edward Mattocks House is built
  6. 1933In the archiveHABS NC,67-SWAN,1- (sheet 6 of 7) - William Pugh Ferrand Store, 122 Front Street
  7. 1942On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 21st century
  9. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 3,744
By decade

Swansboro, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s1 item
HABS NC,67-SWAN,1- (sheet 6 of 7) - William Pugh Ferrand Store, 122 Front Street1933HABS NC,67-SWAN,1- (sheet 6 of 7) - William Pugh Ferr…
1940s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today12 recent
Swansboro Welcome Sign2023Swansboro Welcome SignSwansboro NC2022Swansboro NCSwansboro NC water2022Swansboro NC waterSwansboro NC seating2022Swansboro NC seatingSwansboro NC house2022Swansboro NC houseSwansboro NC downtown2022Swansboro NC downtownSwansboro NC dock2022Swansboro NC dockSwansboro NC Pirate Fest 20222022Swansboro NC Pirate Fest 2022Old Emmerton School2022Old Emmerton SchoolAfrican American History Month Reception2020African American History Month ReceptionNC Swansboro downtown2007NC Swansboro downtownNCMap-doton-Swansboro2004NCMap-doton-Swansboro
On the map

Swansboro on the map, 1942 to 1994

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

Swansboro on the 1942 USGS mapSwansboro on the 1952 USGS mapSwansboro on the 1971 USGS mapSwansboro on the 1983 USGS mapSwansboro on the 1994 USGS map1942Swansboro sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Swansboro.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

HABS NC,67-SWAN,1- (sheet 6 of 7) - William Pugh Ferrand Store, 122 Front Street
Retake this viewHABS NC,67-SWAN,1- (sheet 6 of 7) - William Pugh Ferrand Store, 122 Front Street, 1933

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Swansboro’s page.

Retake this view · +15

Questions about Swansboro’s history

What year was Swansboro founded?

In 1783, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Swansboro’s post office opened in 1799, and the census of 1850 counted 801 people here.

How does Swansboro rank for history?

Swansboro is more historic than 59% of U.S. towns, #108 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 Swansboro?

Two places: the William Edward Mattocks House (listed 1989) and the Swansboro Historic District (1990).

How old are the homes in Swansboro?

0.0% of Swansboro’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 2002.

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 (13), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.