TownTapestry
Sign inJoin
DamascusGood morning
History · Damascus

A history of Damascus,
then and now

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

5old images & papers
7recent photos

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

On January 27, 2025, Vice President JD Vance and Governor Glenn Youngkin visited Damascus to meet with survivors of Hurricane Helene and review the recovery progress.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

built from the dates on the items below
1980s5 items · Porch of the Country Gifts & Antiques…Commons
1990–1999Nothing yet. Family albums go here.
Help out

Finish Damascus’s story

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

1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewPorch of the Country Gifts & Anti…, 1980: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people close to Damascus

See all 22 →
Jayma MaysJayma MaysBristol · 24 miTennessee Ernie FordTennessee Ernie FordBristol · 24 miScott CooperScott CooperAbingdon · 11 miJeremy Ray TaylorJeremy Ray TaylorBluff City · 30 miAnnie JonesAnnie JonesMarion · 21 miFrancis Preston BlairFrancis Preston BlairAbingdon · 11 mi
By decade

Damascus, decade by decade

1980s5 items
Porch of the Country Gifts & Antiques shop on the Appalachian TrailCommonsPorch of the Country Gifts & Antiques shop on the Appalachi…1980Out of Damascus, the Appalachian Trail heads into the mountains and Feathercamp RidgeLOCOut of Damascus, the Appalachian Trail heads into the mount…1980Three expert hikers pose on the Appalachian Trail near Damascus, VirginiaLOCThree expert hikers pose on the Appalachian Trail near Dama…1980Porch of the Country Gifts & Antiques shop on the Appalachian TrailLOCPorch of the Country Gifts & Antiques shop on the Appalachi…1980Two two-legged hikers and one four-legged one on the Appalachian TrailLOCTwo two-legged hikers and one four-legged one on the Appala…1980
1990s–
1990s
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
Today7 photos
Hungry after hiking, burrowing, and being soakedCommonsHungry after hiking, burrowing, and being soaked2008DowntowndamascusCommonsDowntowndamascus2007DamascusdowntownCommonsDamascusdowntown2007Traildays06CommonsTraildays062006DamascusWelcomeMuralCommonsDamascusWelcomeMural2006DamascusDowntownwithBlazeonPoleCommonsDamascusDowntownwithBlazeonPole2006Creeper Trail BridgeCommonsCreeper Trail Bridge2006
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Damascus is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Damascus has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Morrison Farm and Store in Mountain City, 4.9 miles away.

Damascus and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Damascus. Tap a dot.
Morrison Farm and StoreBrook HallAlfred Johnson FarmLong MeadowEdmondson HallEmory and Henry College

Closest to Damascus

Morrison Farm and StoreMountain City · Building4.9miBrook HallEmory · Building9miAlfred Johnson FarmMountain City · District9.6miLong MeadowMountain City · Building9.8miEdmondson HallMeadowview · Built 18569.9mi

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. Morrison Farm and Store’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Damascus?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Damascus’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

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Out of Damascus, the Appalachian Trail heads into the mountains and Feathercamp Ridge (1980) and it appears here side by side.

🔁 Retake this view · +15

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Glade Spring📜 Mountain City📜 Abingdon📜 Chilhowie

From Wikimedia Commons (8) and the Library of Congress (4). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

The coffee’s on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Damascus, VAView boundary

Nearby

All towns & citiesExplore the map

Local begins with a boundary.

See what belongs to your selected town.

Loading boundary…

Damascus 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/18 · 2025-01-01
Open detailed map