Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Waxhaw

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
C+History
History · Waxhaw

Waxhaw’s post office opened in 1888, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 38% of U.S. towns · #157 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it

Most of Waxhaw was built recently: 0.8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2010. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 93 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1970 on, and the census since 1900.

1888first post office
1on the National Register
0.8%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Waxhaw’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Waxhaw began

When was Waxhaw founded?

1888

The Waxhaw post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Wolfsville (1832), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 752 in 19002020 census: 20,534138 years

How historic is Waxhaw?

C+

More historic than 38% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Waxhaw post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Waxhaw’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Waxhaw is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #157 of 290 in North Carolina. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Waxhaw’s overall grade.
Founding era1888, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19400.8% of homes (±0.9) · typical NC town 4.1% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register1 listing, 93 historic buildings, 41.8 per 10,000 residents · typical NC town 12.5 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 38%
NewerOlder
North Carolina towns of 2,500+ (290)Ahead of 46%

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 Waxhaw’s 41.8 sits above most of its state (68% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 93 historic buildings outnumber those of 89% 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 (±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 Waxhaw’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.A historic districtThe Waxhaw Historic District takes in 93 historic buildings.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Waxhaw’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewWaxhaw, NC, Bridge: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

1 listing protects 93 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
93
each building in a district counts
first listed
1991
Waxhaw Historic District
Waxhaw Historic District
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Commercial Style1
Queen Anne1
Bungalow1
Colonial Revival1
Vernacular1
Triple-A1
Waxhaw Historic DistrictCommercial Style

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

The story

How Waxhaw came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Waxhaw.

Read it all →

The original inhabitants of the region were a Native American people group known alternately as either the Wysacky or the Waxhaws. The first European to record contacting the group was the Spanish conquistador Juan Pardo. In 1711, the Waxhaw aided the British colonists of North Carolina in their war against the Tuscarora, a decision that antagonized the Tuscaroras Iroquoian allies in New York, who subsequently began raiding the Waxhaw tribe. These raids continued until 1715, when the Waxhaw joined the Yamasee war effort against the British colony of South Carolina. The tribes involvement in the Yamasee War led to their destruction at the hands of South Carolina's Catawba allies and the freeing of their land for European settlement.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Waxhaw, 1832 to 2000

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1832Post officeThe Wolfsville post office opens
  3. 1888Post officeThe Waxhaw post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1903Post officeThe Wolfsville post office closes
  6. 1970On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1982Born hereDaniel Harvey is born here
  8. 1993Born hereK. J. Brent is born here
  9. 1998Born hereAustin Kendall is born here
  10. 21st century
  11. 2000Born hereNick Saldiveri is born here
By decade

Waxhaw, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Waxhaw, NC, BridgeDate?Waxhaw, NC, Bridge
Today12 recent
Waxhaw, North Carolina 052024Waxhaw, North Carolina 05Waxhaw, North Carolina 042024Waxhaw, North Carolina 04Waxhaw, North Carolina 032024Waxhaw, North Carolina 03Waxhaw, North Carolina 022024Waxhaw, North Carolina 02Waxhaw, North Carolina 012024Waxhaw, North Carolina 01Colonial soldier's uniform, tent2013Colonial soldier's uniform, tentCane Creek Park, NC2010Cane Creek Park, NCWAXHAW HISTORIC DISTRICT, UNION COUNTY, NC2007WAXHAW HISTORIC DISTRICT, UNION COUNTY, NCPLEASANT GROVE CAMP MEETING GROUND, UNION COUNTY, NC2007PLEASANT GROVE CAMP MEETING GROUND, UNION COUNTY, NCDowntown2007DowntownWaxhaw, downtown, building2005Waxhaw, downtown, buildingNCMap-doton-Waxhaw2004NCMap-doton-Waxhaw
On the map

Waxhaw on the map, 1970 to 1988

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

Waxhaw on the 1970 USGS mapWaxhaw on the 1988 USGS map1970Waxhaw 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 Waxhaw.

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.

Waxhaw, NC, Bridge
Retake this viewWaxhaw, NC, Bridge

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Waxhaw, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,000190019201940196019802000202020,534

Grew from 752 people in 1900 to 20,534 in 2020, more than tenfold.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Waxhaw

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

See all →
D
Daniel HarveyAmerican soccer player · b. 1982
N
Nick SaldiveriAmerican football player · b. 2000
A
Austin KendallAmerican football quarterback · b. 1998
K
K. J. BrentAmerican-football player · b. 1993
Robert Ney McNeelyb. 1883
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Waxhaw’s post office has been open since 1888. Another post office, Wolfsville, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Wolfsville
1832–1903
Waxhaw
1888–today
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Wolfville
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Waxhaw
Eastside CommunityPrice ChapelWaxhaw City

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Mineral Springs1 historic placeC−Wesley ChapelIts storyD−MarvinIts storyD−

Questions about Waxhaw’s history

What year was Waxhaw founded?

The Waxhaw post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Waxhaw rank for history?

Waxhaw is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #157 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 Waxhaw?

One place: the Waxhaw Historic District (listed 1991).

How old are the homes in Waxhaw?

0.8% of Waxhaw’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 2010.

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), Wikidata (1), 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.