More historic than 14% of U.S. towns · #217 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
Most of Unionville was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1993. Below: maps from 1971 on and the census since 1920.
The Unionville post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Oakville (1826), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 135 in 19202020 census: 6,643139 years
How historic is Unionville?
D
More historic than 14% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Unionville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Unionville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Unionville is more historic than 14% of U.S. towns, #217 of 290 in North Carolina. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Unionville’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 Unionville’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 still be D. The pre-1940 share (±0.9 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Unionville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The town of Unionville was originally chartered by the North Carolina General Assembly in 1911. Town officials met in the Union Institute building until the building was destroyed by fire. Local leaders, working with the general assembly succeeded in reactivating the town's charter in 1998.
Union County was formed in 1842 from parts of Anson County and Mecklenburg County. The town of Unionville was created in the Goose Creek community on the former Mecklenburg / Anson county line which ran north to south along what is now Unionville Road.
The Unionville post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Unionville rank for history?
Unionville is more historic than 14% of U.S. towns, #217 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.
How old are the homes in Unionville?
1% of Unionville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1993.
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.
