History · Virginia

Virginia’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Virginia. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
5recent photos

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

Virginia was platted in 1887 when the railroad was extended to that point. It was named for Virginia Lewis, the daughter of a pioneer settler.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Be one of the first

Start Virginia’s collection

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

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Famous people close to Virginia

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Virginia, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Virginia is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Virginia has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Filley, Elijah, Stone Barn in Filley, 2.5 miles away.

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Filley, Elijah, Stone Barn’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Virginia?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Virginia’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history

From Wikimedia Commons (5). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

The porch light’s on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Virginia, NEView boundary

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Virginia is your selected town. The feed includes posts assigned to this town, not a distance radius or ZIP code.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01