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C+History
History · Wanchese

Wanchese’s post office opened in 1886, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 36% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1953 on.

1886first post office
0on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Morgan Riley · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Wanchese began, and where its name came from

When was Wanchese founded?

1886

The Wanchese post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 1,522140 years

How did Wanchese get its name?

Wanchese was named after Wanchese, the last known ruler of the Roanoke Native American tribe encountered by English colonists in the sixteenth century.

How historic is Wanchese?

C+

More historic than 36% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Wanchese post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Wanchese’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wanchese is more historic than 36% 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 Wanchese’s overall grade.
Founding era1886, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194017.6% of homes (±7.5) · typical NC town 4.1% · U.S. 8.4%BNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical NC town 12.5 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 36%
NewerOlder

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 Wanchese’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 B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.5 points). 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 Wanchese’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.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wanchese’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Wanchese’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 viewFish0566 - Flickr - NOAA Photo Library: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Wanchese came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Wanchese.

Read it all →

Archeological evidence shows that Wanchese was the site of the first fishing village on Roanoke Island. Indigenous people inhabited the area 1500 years ago, and their various cultures used this site for fishing for 1100 years. They also collected oysters and shellfish from nearby beds in the Sound.

What is called the Tillett Site (after the last owners) had been occupied originally when it was still part of the mainland, during the entire Archaic Period (8000-1000 BC). After the sea levels rose and it became an island, the saline conditions of the Sound became established, giving rise to the later indigenous fishing culture, including that of the historic Roanoke tribe.

Mount Pleasant component, beginning around 400 and ending around 800;

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Wanchese, 1886 to 1997

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1886Post officeThe Wanchese post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1953On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1997In the archiveFish0566 - Flickr - NOAA Photo Library
By decade

Wanchese, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1990s1 item
Fish0566 - Flickr - NOAA Photo Library1997Fish0566 - Flickr - NOAA Photo Library
Today16 recent
Trawler2017TrawlerTrawler2017TrawlerTrawler2017TrawlerSmall fishing boat2017Small fishing boatWanchese, an old fishing port, and in fact, the very first fishing village, on Roanoke Island in North Carolina's Outer…2017Wanchese, an old fishing port, and in fact, the very …Marshland on Roanoke Island in North Carolina's Outer Banks, a 200-mile-long string of barrier islands and splits off t…2017Marshland on Roanoke Island in North Carolina's Outer…Marshland on Roanoke Island in North Carolina's Outer Banks, a 200-mile-long string of barrier islands and Splits off t…2017Marshland on Roanoke Island in North Carolina's Outer…WancheseHarborEntrance2011WancheseHarborEntranceShrimp Boats2008Shrimp BoatsNCMap-doton-Wanchese2004NCMap-doton-WancheseFEMA - 8867 - Photograph by Cynthia Hunter taken on 10-15-2003 in North Carolina2003FEMA - 8867 - Photograph by Cynthia Hunter taken on 1…FEMA - 8866 - Photograph by Cynthia Hunter taken on 10-15-2003 in North Carolina2003FEMA - 8866 - Photograph by Cynthia Hunter taken on 1…FEMA - 8865 - Photograph by Cynthia Hunter taken on 10-15-2003 in North Carolina2003FEMA - 8865 - Photograph by Cynthia Hunter taken on 1…FEMA - 8864 - Photograph by Cynthia Hunter taken on 10-15-2003 in North Carolina2003FEMA - 8864 - Photograph by Cynthia Hunter taken on 1…FEMA - 8863 - Photograph by Cynthia Hunter taken on 10-15-2003 in North Carolina2003FEMA - 8863 - Photograph by Cynthia Hunter taken on 1…FEMA - 8862 - Photograph by Cynthia Hunter taken on 10-15-2003 in North Carolina2003FEMA - 8862 - Photograph by Cynthia Hunter taken on 1…
On the map

Wanchese on the map, 1953 to 1983

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

Wanchese on the 1953 USGS mapWanchese on the 1974 USGS mapWanchese on the 1983 USGS map1953Wanchese 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 Wanchese.

Famous people

Famous people close to Wanchese

Nobody well known was born in Wanchese itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Marc BasnightAmerican politician · b. 1947
D
Dorothy Spruill RedfordAmerican historian · b. 1943
Emanuel DavisAmerican football player · b. 1989
John Allen Midgett, Jr.United States Coast Guard officer · b. 1876
Places that used to be

Old corners

Wanchese’s post office has been open since 1886.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Baumtown

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

Questions about Wanchese’s history

What year was Wanchese founded?

The Wanchese post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Wanchese rank for history?

Wanchese is more historic than 36% 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 Wanchese?

18% of Wanchese’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.5 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1987.

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 (10), the Library of Congress (7), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.