A history of Salisbury,
since 1763
Postcards, papers and photographs of Salisbury from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗In 1753 an appointed Anglo-European trustee for Rowan County was directed to enter 40 acres (16 ha) of land for a County Seat, and public buildings were erected. The deed is dated February 11, 1755, when John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville conveyed 635 acres (257 ha) for the "Salisbury Township". The settlement was built at the intersection of longtime Native American trading routes. It became an economic hub along what was improved as the Great Wagon Road in North Carolina. It became the principal city of the Salisbury judicial and militia districts in the years leading up to the American Revolutionary War. On June 12, 1792, Salisbury was granted a US Post Office. Its first postmaster was George Lauman. This post office has been in continuous operation ever since.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Salisbury’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old view"Gloria Victis" ("Glory to the De…, 1905–1915: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Salisbury, decade by decade
1990s
38 historic places in Salisbury
Salisbury has 38 listings on the National Register, and they protect 1,339 historic buildings, because Fulton Heights Historic District alone counts 439.
Where they are
When they were listed
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Union prisoners at Salisbury, N.C (1863) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (4) and the Library of Congress (2). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.