Editing King, North Carolina (section)

==History==
The town was originally called "King's Cabin". Charles and Francis King lived in a cabin owned by Francis's father for a short time in the 1830s. Being [[Quakers]] and against [[slavery in the United States|slavery]], the King family moved to the free [[Northern United States|North]]. According to television journalist and historian Chad Tucker's book ''Images of America, King'' (2006), after the King family left their home it was used by locals as a landmark or reference point in giving directions. Several decades later when a post office was established in 1888 it was named for that reference point, King's Cabin. The railroad laid tracks a few years later and shortened the name to "King" in its business transactions, and to eliminate confusion the post office followed on September 26, 1894. Charles and Francis King never returned to Stokes County and never knew their former home became the namesake of a town.

According to Tucker, the community grew into an unincorporated town of schools and businesses. With the first automobile arriving by train in October 1911, new highways followed. With new roads, the town's proximity to Winston-Salem, and a new four-lane Highway 52 built in the 1960s, King opened its doors to growth, turning farmland into subdivisions. Community groups acted as an unofficial town council, providing services such as a fire department, water and sewer. On September 13, 1983, King became an incorporated city, 95 years after the King's Cabin post office opened.<ref>Tucker, Chad. ''Images of America, King''. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2006.</ref>

The [[King Historic District]] is listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>