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C+History
History · Tabor City

Tabor City dates to 1905, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 44% of U.S. towns · #144 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 31 buildings. Below: maps from 1962 on and the census since 1910.

1905founded
1on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Pubdog · Public domain
Quick answers

How Tabor City began

When was Tabor City founded?

1905

Tabor City dates its founding to 1905 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 418 in 19102020 census: 3,781121 years

How historic is Tabor City?

C+

More historic than 44% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1895.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Tabor City’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Tabor City is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #144 of 290 in North Carolina. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Tabor City’s overall grade.
Founding era1905, from Wikipedia: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194011.6% of homes (±7.3) · typical NC town 4.1% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register1 listing, 31 historic buildings, 82.1 per 10,000 residents · typical NC town 12.5 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 44%
NewerOlder
North Carolina towns of 2,500+ (290)Ahead of 51%

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 Tabor City’s 82.1 sits above most of its state (73% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 31 historic buildings outnumber those of 82% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1905.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.3 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 Tabor City’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Tabor City are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Tabor City Commercial Historic District takes in 31 historic buildings.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Tabor City’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Tabor City’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
On the National Register

1 listing protects 31 historic buildings

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
31
each building in a district counts
first listed
2015
Tabor City Commercial Historic District
Tabor City Commercial Historic District
Districts
All 1 listings
Tabor City Commercial Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2015

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

The story

How Tabor City came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Tabor City.

Read it all →

According to Swanton (1952), before the arrival of the Europeans, the area was home to the Cape Fear Indians, the Waccamaw Indians, and the Saponas.

During the Revolutionary War, men from the area joined with the rebels in the Battle of Brown Marsh. The Loyalists won, marking the high point of their efforts to defeat the revolution in the southern theater. Men from the area may have also aided the American forces in the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge, which had a much more favorable outcome for the Americans. The Siege of Charleston saw troops from the coastal Carolinas unsuccessfully defend the city from the British.

ChaptersPre-European1670s–1830s1830s–1930s1940s–1970s1980s–20102011–present

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Tabor City, 1895 to 1991

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1895Post officeThe Tabor post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1905
    FoundingTabor City is established
  5. 1911Born hereTaffy Wright is born here
  6. 1932Born hereStonewall Jackson is born here
  7. 1935Post officeThe Tabor post office closes
  8. 1935Post officeThe Tabor City post office opens
  9. 1962On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1991Born hereAmanda Dowe is born here
By decade

Tabor City, decade by decade

Today7 recent
West 5th Street in Tabor City2019West 5th Street in Tabor CityTabor City2019Tabor CityTabor City rail line2019Tabor City rail lineStout Stonewall Sign, Music History2019Stout Stonewall Sign, Music HistoryAuto Parts Express, Tabor City2019Auto Parts Express, Tabor CityTabor City NC Welcome Arch Jun 102010Tabor City NC Welcome Arch Jun 102010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map for Tabor City, North Carolina--South Carolina20102010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map for Tabor Cit…Book
On the map

Tabor City on the map, 1962 to 1990

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

Tabor City on the 1962 USGS mapTabor City on the 1986 USGS mapTabor City on the 1990 USGS map1962Tabor City West 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 Tabor City.

People over time

Tabor City, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0001920194019601980200020203,781

Grew from 418 people in 1910 to 3,781 in 2020, 9 times over.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Tabor City

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Stonewall JacksonAmerican country singer-songwriter · b. 1932
Amanda DoweAmerican basketball player · b. 1991
Taffy WrightAmerican baseball player · b. 1911
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Another post office, Tabor, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Tabor
1895–1935
Tabor City
1935–today
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
East Tabor
1cemetery inside Tabor City
Myrtle Green

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

Questions about Tabor City’s history

What year was Tabor City founded?

In 1905, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Tabor City’s post office opened in 1895, and the census of 1910 counted 418 people here.

How does Tabor City rank for history?

Tabor City is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #144 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 Tabor City?

One place: the Tabor City Commercial Historic District (listed 2015).

How old are the homes in Tabor City?

12% of Tabor City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.3 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1967.

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 (7), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.