Bridgewater’s history is
mostly unwritten
The public archives hold only 2 old photos of Bridgewater. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗William Magill first settled along the North River in 1746, and the area became known as Magill's Ford.
According to the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society, the book History of Rockingham County, Virginia said John Dinkle built a carding mill there around 1810 and the settlement came to be called Dinkletown. By 1815, the Dinkle family additionally had a sawmill, stave mill, and gristmill in operation and opened the Dinkle Tavern on South Main Street (SR 42) in a brick house that still stands. Dinkle is also spelled Dinkel; the current town's main east–west street (SR 257) still carries the name Dinkel Avenue within the town limits.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowStart Bridgewater’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bridgewater’s history is told.
1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewNatural falls, Bridgewater, Va, 1907: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Bridgewater
See all 3 →Bridgewater, decade by decade
1990s
1 historic place in Bridgewater
Bridgewater has 1 listing on the National Register, and they protect 127 historic buildings, because Bridgewater Historic District alone counts 127.
Where they are
When they were listed
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Natural falls, Bridgewater, Va (1907) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (6). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.