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History · Grundy · established 1858

Grundy’s history is mostly unwritten

The public archives hold only 2 old photos of Grundy. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

1858established
2old photos & papers
1historic places
7famous people
1need a date
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Grundy’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Grundy’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Grundy’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2 Retake an old viewGrundy Virginia flood 1984: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Grundy came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Grundy.

Read it all →

The town, founded in 1858 upon the formation of Buchanan County, was named for Felix Grundy, United States Attorney General (1838–1839) and United States Senator from Tennessee (1839–1840). It was incorporated in 1876. The present courthouse dates from 1905 and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1982. Since the late 19th century, this area depended on coal mining as the basis of its economy. The decline in mining resulted in a loss of jobs and population.

ChaptersCivil War eventsRed Jacket Mine explosionGrundy Flood-Control ProjectBase of a regional grocery store chainEducation as a new sustaining industryAppalachian School of Law shooting

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Grundy, 1858 to 1984

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1858
    FoundingGrundy is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1944Born hereLee Smith is born here
  5. 1947Born hereBev Perdue is born here
  6. 1950Born hereArthur Byron Cover is born here
  7. 1972Born hereRyan O'Quinn is born here
  8. 1984In the archiveGrundy Virginia flood 1984
By decade

Grundy, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1980s1 item
Grundy Virginia flood 19841984Grundy Virginia flood 1984
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
Date unknown1 to date
Grundy2005Date?Grundy2005
Today7 recent
Grundy, Virginia Walmart Supercenter2020Grundy, Virginia Walmart Supercenter Grundy Town Center2020Grundy Town Center 2017-06-11 18 32 49 View east along Virginia State Route 83 (Edgewater Drive) just east of U.S. Route 460 (Anchorage Ci…20172017-06-11 18 32 49 View east along Virginia State Ro… Buchanan County Courthouse2011Buchanan County Courthouse GrundyHS2009GrundyHS BuchananCoCourthouse2009BuchananCoCourthouse VAMap-doton-Grundy2005VAMap-doton-Grundy
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.

Grundy Virginia flood 1984
Retake this viewGrundy Virginia flood 1984, 1984

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Grundy

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1982
Buchanan County Courthouse
in Virginia
#243
by listings
Buchanan County Courthouse
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Classical Revival1
Buchanan County CourthouseClassical Revival

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

Famous people

7 famous people were born in Grundy

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

See all →
Bev PerdueAmerican politician and 73rd Governor of North … · b. 1947
Ryan O'QuinnAmerican actor · b. 1972
L
Lee SmithAmerican writer · b. 1944
A
Arthur Byron CoverAmerican writer · b. 1950
Gurney NormanAmerican writer and professor from Virginia · b. 1937
E
Eloise E. ClarkAmerican biologist · b. 1931

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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From Wikimedia Commons (9), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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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