Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Weldon

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
A+History
History · Weldon

Weldon’s post office opened in 1823, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 96% of U.S. towns. What drives it

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 256 buildings. Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1870.

1823first post office
2on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
11old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Weldon’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Weldon began

When was Weldon founded?

1823

The Weldon post office opened in 1823, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 208 in 18702020 census: 1,444203 years

How historic is Weldon?

A+

More historic than 96% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Weldon’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Weldon is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its age lowest.

A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Weldon’s overall grade.
Founding era1823, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194027.2% of homes (±7.7) · typical NC town 4.1% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register2 listings, 257 historic buildings, 1,565 per 10,000 residents · typical NC town 12.5 · U.S. 2.4A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 96%
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 Weldon’s 1,565 sits above most of its state (99% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 257 historic buildings outnumber those of 95% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.7 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 Weldon’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A historic districtThe Weldon Historic District takes in 256 historic buildings.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1885 to 1915, drew every building in Weldon.Boom and bustPeaked at 2,341 in 1940; 1,444 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsA post office since 1823: 203 years of Weldon.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

2 listings protect 257 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
257
each building in a district counts
first listed
1991
Grace Episcopal Church
Grace Episcopal Church, built 1872Weldon Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Gothic1
Colonial Revival1
Bungalow/Craftsman1
Queen Anne1
Italianate1
Classical Revival1
Grace Episcopal ChurchGothic · Built 1872
Weldon Historic DistrictColonial Revival

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

Every building

Weldon, building by building, 1885–1915

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.

Weldon fire insurance map, 1885, sheet 11885Sheet 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.

People over time

Weldon, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,50018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,341

Peaked at 2,341 in 1940; 1,444 people lived here in 2020.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

The story

How Weldon came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Weldon.

Read it all →

In 1752, Daniel Weldon purchased 1,273 acres of land on the Roanoke River. His plantation became known as Weldon's Landing. As it was just below the fall line, Weldon's Landing was the westernmost point of navigation along the Roanoke.

The Roanoke Canal was built in 1823 to bypass the rapids and open up trade to Virginia. The aqueduct across Chockoyotte creek was built near Weldon's Landing, bringing an economic boom to the area. The canal is now dry, and is a hiking trail open to the public.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Weldon, 1823 to 1978

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1823Post officeThe Weldon post office opens
  3. 1872BuiltGrace Episcopal Church is built
  4. 1884In the archiveFMIB 36334 Striped Bass Hatchery at Weldon, N C
  5. 20th century
  6. 1914In the archiveGroup of workers in the Shaw Cotton Mills going home. Several violations. Location: Weldo…
  7. 1937Born hereKing Virgil Cheek is born here
  8. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 2,341
  9. 1942Born hereJimmy Soul is born here
  10. 1974On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1978In the archiveRiding Amtrak, 1978
By decade

Weldon, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1910s10 items
FMIB 36334 Striped Bass Hatchery at Weldon, N C1884FMIB 36334 Striped Bass Hatchery at Weldon, N CGroup of workers in the Shaw Cotton Mills going home. Several violations. Location: Weldon, North Carolina1914Group of workers in the Shaw Cotton Mills going home.…Hugh Dixon a 10 year old boy who says he's been working in the Shaw Cotton Mill some in the past year. Location: Weldon…1914Hugh Dixon a 10 year old boy who says he's been worki…Shaw Cotton Mills. Overseer grouped all the workers, and several of them are surely under 13, and several began work un…1914Shaw Cotton Mills. Overseer grouped all the workers, …Shaw Cotton Mills. Overseer grouped all the workers, and several of them are surely under 13, and several began work un…1914Shaw Cotton Mills. Overseer grouped all the workers, …Shaw Cotton Mills. Overseer grouped all the workers, and several of them are surely under 13, and several began work un…1914Shaw Cotton Mills. Overseer grouped all the workers, …An accident case of a 13-year-old doffer. Had been working since he was nine. "I got my hand caught in the cogs of the …1914An accident case of a 13-year-old doffer. Had been wo…Shaw Cotton Mills. An accident case. Alfred Padgett a doffer says he is 13 years old now, but worked when he was 12, an…1914Shaw Cotton Mills. An accident case. Alfred Padgett a…North Carolina - Weldson1917North Carolina - WeldsonNorth Carolina - Weldson1917North Carolina - Weldson
1920s–1960snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
1970s1 item
Riding Amtrak, 19781978Riding Amtrak, 1978
1980s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today1 recent
NCMap-doton-Weldon2004NCMap-doton-Weldon
On the map

Weldon on the map, 1974 to 1997

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

Weldon on the 1974 USGS mapWeldon on the 1997 USGS map1974Weldon 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 Weldon.

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.

FMIB 36334 Striped Bass Hatchery at Weldon, N C
Retake this viewFMIB 36334 Striped Bass Hatchery at Weldon, N C, 1884

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Weldon

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

See all →
J
Jimmy SoulAmerican male singer · b. 1942
K
King Virgil CheekAmerican educator, lawyer, and author · b. 1937
Help out

Finish Weldon’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewFMIB 36334 Striped Bass Hatchery at Wel…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Roanoke Rapids3 historic placesB+South WeldonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Weldon’s history

What year was Weldon founded?

The Weldon post office opened in 1823, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Weldon rank for history?

Weldon is more historic than 96% 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.

What is on the National Register in Weldon?

Two places: the Grace Episcopal Church (listed 1991) and the Weldon Historic District (1996).

How old are the homes in Weldon?

27% of Weldon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.7 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1958.

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 (5), the Library of Congress (7), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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 and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.