Waynesville dates to 1810, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 84% of U.S. towns · #33 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
18 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 118 buildings between them. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1896 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1812.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Waynesville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Waynesville is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #33 of 290 in North Carolina. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Waynesville’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 Waynesville’s 134 sits above most of its state (80% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 141 historic buildings outnumber those of 91% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.1 points). Two sources give 1810.
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 Waynesville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Waynesville, building by building, 1896–1924
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1896Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Prior to European colonization, the area that is now Saunook was inhabited by the Cherokee people and other Indigenous peoples for thousands of years. The Cherokee in Western North Carolina are known as the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, a federally recognized tribe.
The town of Waynesville was founded in 1810 by Colonel Robert Love, a Revolutionary War soldier. He donated land for the courthouse, jail, and public square, and named the town after his former commander in the war, General "Mad" Anthony Wayne.
Passages that mention Waynesville, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Centennial of Haywood County and its county seat, Waynesville, N. C.1908 · page 84Read the page →
Read the text
Some time in 1882 the railroad was completed to Waynesville, and the first engine with a train of cars pulled up to the station that year. It was a great occasion for the town. The next year the North Carolina Teachers Assembly met at the Springs Hotel, and in a few years the little mountain hamlet, before isolated and unknown, was heard of throughout North Carolina.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Centennial of Haywood County and its county seat, Waynesville, N. C.1908 · page 136Read the page →
Read the text
General Assembly he was successful in getting through that body some laws that have been very beneficial to the county. Against many protests he introduced the first bil that provided for paved streets in Waynesville and the macadam roads leading out from Waynesville in every direction. Since 1903 he has held the position of engrossing clerk of the State Legislature to which he was elected in 1905.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Waynesville, 1810 to 2000
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
In 1810, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Waynesville’s post office opened in 1812, and the census of 1880 counted 225 people here.
How does Waynesville rank for history?
Waynesville is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #33 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 Waynesville?
18 listings: 15 buildings, among them the Shelton House (listed 1979, the first), and 3 historic districts, the Frog Level Historic District, the Waynesville Main Street Historic District and the Spread Out Historic District, with 118 contributing buildings. 141 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Waynesville?
13% of Waynesville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.1 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1972.
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 Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (18), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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