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History · Chatham · established 1874

152 years of Chatham, in pictures

Postcards, papers and photographs of Chatham from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.

1874established
11old photos & papers
8historic places
15famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Chatham’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Chatham’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A historic districtChatham Historic District protects 188 historic buildings.A National Historic Landmark8 places on the National Register, including Pittsylvania County Courthouse, a National Historic Landmark.Old housesHalf of Chatham’s homes were built before 1955.Famous sons and daughtersClaudia Emerson, Archibald Thomas Robertson and 13 more were born here.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

8 listings protect 204 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
8
National Historic Landmark
1
Pittsylvania County Courthouse
historic buildings protected
204
each building in a district counts
first listed
1981
Pittsylvania County Courthouse
in Virginia
#42
by listings
Clerk's OfficeBill's DinerBurnett's DinerChatham Historic DistrictChatham Southern Railway Depot, built 1919Hargrave Military Academy, built 1909Gilbert's RestaurantPittsylvania County Courthouse, built 1853★
BuildingsDistricts★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Early Classical Revival1
Federal1
High Victorian Revival1
Queen Anne1
Italianate1
Beaux Arts1
★ Landmark
Pittsylvania County CourthouseBuilt 1853
Clerk's OfficeBuilding
Bill's DinerBuilding
Burnett's DinerBuilding
Chatham Historic DistrictEarly Classical Revival
Chatham Southern Railway DepotBuilt 1919
Hargrave Military AcademyBuilt 1909
All 8 listings
Gilbert's RestaurantBuilding · listed 2025

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How Chatham came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Chatham.

Read it all →

It is the home to the oldest continually used building in Pittsylvania County, once an 18th-century tavern, since turned into a house and now occupied by Chatham Hall faculty.

Chatham is the county seat for Pittsylvania County and has held that status since 1777. There is a large U.S. Department of Agriculture office to support farmers in the area and a small branch office of the U.S. Forest Service. Virginia has built a new state prison at the site of an old work-release camp; this led to infrastructure upgrades in fire and water services to support the increased population.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Chatham, 1853 to 1987

Woven from the archive, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1853BuiltPittsylvania County Courthouse is built
  3. 1863Born hereArchibald Thomas Robertson is born here
  4. 1874
    FoundingChatham is established
  5. 20th century
  6. 1906In the archiveSims Mitchell House Whittle Street
  7. 1909BuiltHargrave Military Academy is built
  8. 1910In the archiveConfederate veterans dinner Chatham Virginia 1910
  9. 1914Born hereDan Daniel is born here
  10. 1919BuiltChatham Southern Railway Depot is built
  11. 1922In the archiveChatham Savings Bank
  12. 1957Born hereClaudia Emerson is born here
  13. 1960Born hereBarbara Hall is born here
  14. 1987LandmarkPittsylvania County Courthouse named a National Historic Landmark
By decade

Chatham, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1910s7 items
Sims Mitchell House Whittle Street1906Sims Mitchell House Whittle Street North Main Street Chatham Virginia 1909c. 1909North Main Street Chatham Virginia 1909 Confederate veterans dinner Chatham Virginia 19101910Confederate veterans dinner Chatham Virginia 1910 Lower Main Street Chatham 19111911Lower Main Street Chatham 1911 B S White and Sonc. 1912B S White and Son Countyseat Giants 19121912Countyseat Giants 1912 Dry goods salesman Chatham Virginia 19181918Dry goods salesman Chatham Virginia 1918
1920s4 items
Chatham Savings Bankc. 1922Chatham Savings Bank "Chatham," Colonel Daniel Bradford Devore house, 120 Chatham Lane, Fredericksburg, Virginia. East terrace1927"Chatham," Colonel Daniel Bradford Devore house, 120 … "Chatham," Colonel Daniel Bradford Devore house, 120 Chatham Lane, Fredericksburg, Stafford County, Virginia. West gard…1927"Chatham," Colonel Daniel Bradford Devore house, 120 … "Chatham," Colonel Daniel Bradford Devore house, 120 Chatham Lane, Fredericksburg, Stafford County, Virginia. Dovecote …1927"Chatham," Colonel Daniel Bradford Devore house, 120 …
1930s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today4 recent
Chatham, Virginia2013Chatham, Virginia Chatham, Virginia2013Chatham, Virginia Chatham, Virginia2013Chatham, Virginia Chatham, Virginia2013Chatham, Virginia
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Sims Mitchell House Whittle Street
Retake this viewSims Mitchell House Whittle Street, 1906

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Chatham’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

15 famous people were born in Chatham

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
C
Claudia EmersonAmerican academic, writer and poet · b. 1957
Archibald Thomas RobertsonBaptist New Testament scholar · b. 1863
B
Barbara HallAmerican television producer · b. 1960
Dan DanielAmerican politician · b. 1914
E
Ellen Bryant VoigtAmerican poet · b. 1943
N
Nevitt SanfordProfessor of psychology at the University of Ca… · b. 1909
Help out

Finish Chatham’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewSims Mitchell House Whittle Street: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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From Wikimedia Commons (12), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (8), Wikipedia and Wikidata for famous people. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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