St. Pauls grew slowly from a town of just the church, Davis' home, a post office and a livery stable.

[6] The construction of the Virginia and Carolina Southern Railway through St. Pauls helped establish the community as a leading producer of textiles.

[6] The mills provided significant tax revenue to the town, at one point enabling it to supply free water, sewer, and trash services to residents.

[7] Nearly all the mills closed in the 1990s as the textile industry moved from the American South to Latin America and Southeast Asia.

[7] In the 2000s the job market in the town stagnated, experiencing only minimal growth from the commercial sector developed near Interstate 95.

[9] According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.3 square miles (3.4 km2), all land.

The Carolina Raging Wolves of the Women's Football Alliance plays at St. Pauls High School, located in the town.