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History · Bland

Bland’s history is
mostly unwritten

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

0old images & papers
2recent photos

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

Bland is a census-designated place (CDP) in and the county seat of Bland County, Virginia, United States. Bland was originally known as Bland Court House. The population as of the 2020 Census was 312.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 409 to 383 (-6%). Half of its homes were built before 1996.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Bland yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.

Be one of the first

Start Bland’s collection

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

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people from Bland

See all 4 →
Bob WilliamsBob WilliamsSportsDaniel W. Bird Jr.Daniel W. Bird Jr.Politics & LawDBD. Woodrow BirdPolitics & LawLHLombe HonakerSports
By decade

Bland, 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
Today2 photos
Int77sRoad-Exit52-US52VA42CommonsInt77sRoad-Exit52-US52VA422017Bland County CourthouseCommonsBland County Courthouse2013
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Bland is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Bland has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Junius Marcellus Updyke Farm in Mechanicsburg, 5.6 miles away.

Bland and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Bland. Tap a dot.
Junius Marcellus Updyke FarmCrockett's Cove Presbyterian ChurchWythe County Poorhouse FarmSt. John's Lutheran Church and CemeteryLorettoWolf Creek Bridge

Closest to Bland

Junius Marcellus Updyke FarmMechanicsburg · Building5.6miCrockett's Cove Presbyterian ChurchMax Meadows · Building6.7miWythe County Poorhouse FarmMax Meadows · Building9.5miSt. John's Lutheran Church and CemeteryWytheville · District9.6miLorettoWytheville · Building10mi

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. Junius Marcellus Updyke Farm’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Bland?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Bland’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
📜 Wytheville📜 Bluefield📜 Bluefield📜 Rural Retreat

From Wikimedia Commons (2). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

The door’s open

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/19 · 2025-01-01
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