Welcome’s post office opened in 1880, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 33% of U.S. towns · #167 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
Most of Welcome was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Its Register listings are the Beulah Church of Christ Cemetery and the Riley Everhart Farm and General Store. Below: maps from 1969 on.
The Welcome post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Arnold (1888), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 4,131146 years
How historic is Welcome?
C
More historic than 33% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Welcome post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Welcome’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Welcome is more historic than 33% of U.S. towns, #167 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 Welcome’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 Welcome’s 22.7 sits near the middle of its state (62% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 8 historic buildings outnumber those of 74% 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 (±1.8 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 Welcome’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In the early 1900s, a meeting was held in the community of Hinkle to decide what the new Winston-Salem Southbound Railway depot would be called. Records show that while there was disagreement, one man said the most important thing was for all people to be welcome. When the name Welcome was suggested, everyone agreed.
Beulah Church of Christ Cemetery, Good Hope Methodist Church Cemetery, and Waggoner Graveyard are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Welcome’s post office has been open since 1880. Another post office, Arnold, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Welcome
1880–today
Arnold
1888–1903
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
ArnoldBethesda
1cemetery inside Welcome
Beulah
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Welcome’s history
What year was Welcome founded?
The Welcome post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Welcome rank for history?
Welcome is more historic than 33% of U.S. towns, #167 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 Welcome?
Two places: the Beulah Church of Christ Cemetery (listed 1984) and the Riley Everhart Farm and General Store (1984).
How old are the homes in Welcome?
1% of Welcome’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.8 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1978.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.
