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BHistory
History · Whiteville

Whiteville’s post office opened in 1821, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 62% of U.S. towns · #100 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it

Most of Whiteville was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1971. Its Register listings are the Columbus County Courthouse and the Dr. Neil and Nancy Elizabeth Culbreth House. Below: maps from 1955 on and the census since 1890.

1821first post office
2on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
16famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Whiteville began

When was Whiteville founded?

1821

The Whiteville post office opened in 1821, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Vineland (1885), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 372 in 18902020 census: 4,766205 years

How historic is Whiteville?

B

More historic than 62% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Whiteville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Whiteville is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns, #100 of 290 in North Carolina. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Whiteville’s overall grade.
Founding era1821, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19408.4% of homes (±4.2) · typical NC town 4.1% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register2 listings, 4.3 per 10,000 residents · typical NC town 12.5 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 62%
NewerOlder
North Carolina towns of 2,500+ (290)Ahead of 66%

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 Whiteville’s 4.3 sits near the middle of its state (46% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.2 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 Whiteville’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Whiteville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Whiteville, and 6 old place names are still on the map.Deep rootsA post office since 1821: 205 years of Whiteville.Famous sons and daughtersScott Dawson, Archie Randolph Ammons and 14 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Whiteville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Whiteville’s post office has been open since 1821. Another post office, Vineland, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Whiteville
1821–today
Vineland
1885–1929
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Baldwin WoodsBarb Crest Trailer ParkMcKenzie WoodsRunnymeadeSouth WhitevilleSunset Terrace
1cemetery inside Whiteville
Columbus Country Memorial Park

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

Timeline

Whiteville, 1821 to 1994

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1821Post officeThe Whiteville post office opens
  3. 1885Post officeThe Vineland post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1926Born hereArchie Randolph Ammons is born here
  6. 1929Post officeThe Vineland post office closes
  7. 1955On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1966Born hereJane McNeill is born here
  9. 1984Born hereScott Dawson is born here
  10. 1994Born hereAddison McDowell is born here
The story

How Whiteville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Whiteville.

Read it all →

Columbus County was created in 1808. In 1810, an act authorized James Bunbury White to "lay off a town on his own lands in the county of Columbus" and appointed five commissioners, Isaac Powell, John Wingate, Arthur Simpson, William Burney and Warren Baldwin, "for the purpose of laying off a town on the lands of the said James B. White, in the county aforesaid, at the place fixed on to erect the public buildings for said county; which town, when laid off by said commissioners, or a majority of them, shall be named Whitesville, and the lots thereof shall be for the sole benefit and disposal of the said James B. White." Whiteville has had a post office since 1821. The town was sacked by Union forces during the latter stages of the American Civil War. The name Whitesville was officially changed to Whiteville by the U.S. Post Office in 1889.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Whiteville, decade by decade

Today14 recent
Whiteville, North Carolina2019Whiteville, North CarolinaWhiteville, North Carolina courthouse square2019Whiteville, North Carolina courthouse squareWhiteville, North Carolina courthouse square 32019Whiteville, North Carolina courthouse square 3Whiteville, North Carolina courthouse square 22019Whiteville, North Carolina courthouse square 2Columbus County Courthouse facade2019Columbus County Courthouse facadeAbandoned tobacco warehouse2019Abandoned tobacco warehouseCarolina Southern Railroad Whiteville Depot August 20132013Carolina Southern Railroad Whiteville Depot August 20…Carolina Southern Railroad Whiteville Depot August 2013 - panoramio (5)2013Carolina Southern Railroad Whiteville Depot August 20…Carolina Southern Railroad Whiteville Depot August 2013 - panoramio (4)2013Carolina Southern Railroad Whiteville Depot August 20…Carolina Southern Railroad Whiteville Depot August 2013 - panoramio (3)2013Carolina Southern Railroad Whiteville Depot August 20…Carolina Southern Railroad Whiteville Depot August 2013 - panoramio (2)2013Carolina Southern Railroad Whiteville Depot August 20…Carolina Southern Railroad Whiteville Depot August 2013 - panoramio (1)2013Carolina Southern Railroad Whiteville Depot August 20…Columbus County, NC Courthouse2010Columbus County, NC CourthouseNorth Carolina 052906 4242006North Carolina 052906 424
On the map

Whiteville on the map, 1955 to 1987

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

Whiteville on the 1955 USGS mapWhiteville on the 1987 USGS map1955Whiteville sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Whiteville.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Whiteville

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Columbus County Courthouse
Columbus County CourthouseDr. Neil and Nancy Elizabeth Culbreth House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Neo-Classical Revival1
Columbus County CourthouseNeo-Classical Revival
All 2 listings
Dr. Neil and Nancy Elizabeth Culbreth HouseBuilding · listed 2016

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

People over time

Whiteville, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 5,565

Between 372 and 5,565 people in every census since 1890.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Famous people

16 famous people were born in Whiteville

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

See all →
Scott DawsonAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1984
A
Archie Randolph AmmonsAmerican poet · b. 1926
Addison McDowellAmerican politician · b. 1994
J
Jane McNeillAmerican actress · b. 1966
J
Jerrod MustafAmerican basketball player · b. 1969
Dewey L. HillAmerican politician in North Carolina · b. 1925

Questions about Whiteville’s history

What year was Whiteville founded?

The Whiteville post office opened in 1821, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Whiteville rank for history?

Whiteville is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns, #100 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 Whiteville?

Two places: the Columbus County Courthouse (listed 1979) and the Dr. Neil and Nancy Elizabeth Culbreth House (2016).

How old are the homes in Whiteville?

8% of Whiteville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.2 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1971.

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 (14), 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) 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.