TownTapestry
Sign inJoin
CanaGood evening
History · Cana

Cana’s history is
mostly unwritten

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

0old images & papers
1recent photos

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

Cana () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Carroll County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 census, Cana had a population of 1,243. It is the only CDP designated area in the county that is outside of the Appalachian Mountains in the Virginia Piedmont .

Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,254 people in 2010, 1,243 in 2020. Half of its homes were built before 1976.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Cana 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 Cana’s collection

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

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

Famous people from Cana

See all 1 →
Tim BrownTim BrownSports
By decade

Cana, 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
Today1 photo
Lucky Horseshoe LotteryCommonsLucky Horseshoe Lottery2016
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Cana is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Cana has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is William Carter House in Mount Airy, 2.8 miles away.

Cana and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Cana. Tap a dot.
William Carter HouseCountry Club Estates Historic DistrictJ. J. Jones High SchoolBen and Barbara Graves HouseTaylor Park Historic DistrictLebanon Hill Historic District

Closest to Cana

William Carter HouseMount Airy · Building2.8miCountry Club Estates Historic DistrictMount Airy · District5miJ. J. Jones High SchoolMount Airy · Building5miBen and Barbara Graves HouseMount Airy · Building5.4miTaylor Park Historic DistrictMount Airy · District5.5mi

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. William Carter House’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Cana?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Cana’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
📜 Mount Airy📜 Hillsville📜 Dobson📜 Galax

From Wikimedia Commons (1). 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 Cana, VAView boundary

Nearby

All towns & citiesExplore the map

Local begins with a boundary.

See what belongs to your selected town.

Loading boundary…

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

Neighborhoods narrow the feed further, while townwide announcements, events, and issues remain visible.

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