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Wilkesboro NC Old CourthousePhoto: NatalieMaynor · CC BY 2.0
B+History
History · Wilkesboro

Wilkesboro dates to 1800, and 13 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 75% of U.S. towns · #68 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it

Most of Wilkesboro was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. 13 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 69 buildings. Below: maps from 1889 on and the census since 1880.

1800founded
13on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Wilkesboro began

When was Wilkesboro founded?

1800

Wilkesboro dates its founding to 1800 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 200 in 18802020 census: 3,687226 years

How historic is Wilkesboro?

B+

More historic than 75% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1819.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Wilkesboro’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wilkesboro is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns, #68 of 290 in North Carolina. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Wilkesboro’s overall grade.
Founding era1800, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19405.1% of homes (±3.2) · typical NC town 4.1% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register13 listings, 88 historic buildings, 241 per 10,000 residents · typical NC town 12.5 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 75%
NewerOlder
North Carolina towns of 2,500+ (290)Ahead of 77%

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 Wilkesboro’s 241 sits above most of its state (86% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 88 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 B− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.2 points). Two sources give 1800.

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 Wilkesboro’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 Wilkesboro are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18894 editions of the USGS map, 1889 to 1985. Watch Wilkesboro change.A historic districtThe Downtown Wilkesboro Historic District takes in 69 historic buildings.Landmarks on the Register13 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wilkesboro’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Wilkesboro’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
On the map

Wilkesboro on the map, 1889 to 1985

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

Wilkesboro on the 1889 USGS mapWilkesboro on the 1891 USGS mapWilkesboro on the 1966 USGS mapWilkesboro on the 1985 USGS map1889Wilkesboro sheet · 1:125,000

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

On the National Register

13 listings protect 88 historic buildings

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

places listed
13
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
88
each building in a district counts
first listed
1971
Old Wilkes County Jail
Old Wilkes County JailRobert Cleveland Log HouseWilkes County Courthouse, built 1903Brown-Cowles House and Cowles Law OfficeFinley, Thomas B., Law Office, built 1880J. T. Ferguson StoreJohnson-Hubbard House, built 1857Wilkesboro Presbyterian ChurchWilkesboro-Smithey HotelSt. Paul's Episcopal Church and CemeteryDowntown Wilkesboro Historic District, built 1835Lincoln Heights School, built 1924J. L. Hemphill House
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival3
Beaux Arts2
Federal2
Gothic Revival2
Queen Anne2
Log House1
Old Wilkes County JailBuilding
Robert Cleveland Log HouseLog House
Wilkes County CourthouseBeaux Arts · Built 1903
Brown-Cowles House and Cowles Law OfficeFederal
Finley, Thomas B., Law OfficeCarpenter Gothic · Built 1880
J. T. Ferguson StoreBuilding
Johnson-Hubbard HouseGreek Revival · Built 1857
Wilkesboro Presbyterian ChurchGreek Revival
All 13 listings
Wilkesboro-Smithey HotelBuilding · listed 1982St. Paul's Episcopal Church and CemeteryBuilding · listed 1982Downtown Wilkesboro Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2009Lincoln Heights SchoolBuilding · listed 2018J. L. Hemphill HouseBuilding · listed 1982

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

The story

How Wilkesboro came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Wilkesboro.

Read it all →

Wilkesboro was founded in 1800 and quickly designated as the county seat.

The town is built atop a low, broad ridge which runs for over a mile along the south bank of the Yadkin River.

For many decades a popular historic spot in Wilkesboro was the "Tory Oak", a large oak tree from which Colonel Benjamin Cleveland, a well-known Wilkes County patriot during the American Revolutionary War, hanged Loyalist militia leaders who supported the British king and opposed American independence from Britain. The oak was located behind the old Wilkes County courthouse.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Wilkesboro, 1800 to 1937

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1800
    FoundingWilkesboro is established
  3. 1819Post officeThe Wilkesboro post office opens
  4. 1835BuiltDowntown Wilkesboro Historic District is built
  5. 1857BuiltJohnson-Hubbard House is built
  6. 1866Born hereRichard N. Hackett is born here
  7. 1880BuiltFinley, Thomas B., Law Office is built
  8. 1889On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1897Born hereJim Hamby is born here
  10. 20th century
  11. 1903BuiltWilkes County Courthouse is built
  12. 1926Born hereSara Lou Harris Carter is born here
  13. 1937Born hereRhoda Billings is born here
By decade

Wilkesboro, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Wilkesboro Smithey Hotel2010Wilkesboro Smithey HotelWilkesboro Presbyterian Church2009Wilkesboro Presbyterian ChurchMemorial stone in Old Wilkes Jail in2004Memorial stone in Old Wilkes Jail in
People over time

Wilkesboro, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,000188019001920194019601980200020203,687

Grew from 200 people in 1880 to 3,687 in 2020, more than tenfold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Wilkesboro

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

See all →
Richard N. HackettAmerican politician · b. 1866
J
Jim HambyAmerican baseball player · b. 1897
R
Rhoda BillingsAmerican judge · b. 1937
Sara Lou Harris CarterEducator, entertainer, model, humanitarian · b. 1926
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Wilkesboro’s post office has been open since 1819.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Forest HillsHilornKnollwoodRobinetWestwood Hills
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Wilkesboro
Mountain ParkSaint Pauls

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.

Moravian Falls1 historic placeC−CricketIts storyDNorth Wilkesboro4 historic placesB+

Questions about Wilkesboro’s history

What year was Wilkesboro founded?

In 1800, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Wilkesboro’s post office opened in 1819, and the census of 1880 counted 200 people here.

How does Wilkesboro rank for history?

Wilkesboro is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns, #68 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 Wilkesboro?

13 listings: 12 buildings, among them the Old Wilkes County Jail (listed 1971, the first), and 1 historic district, the Downtown Wilkesboro Historic District, with 69 contributing buildings. 88 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Wilkesboro?

5% of Wilkesboro’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.2 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1977.

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 (3), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (13), 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.