History · Narrows

Narrows’s history is mostly unwritten

The public archives hold just one old photo of Narrows. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

1old photo or paper

1historic places

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Narrows’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Narrows’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtNarrows Commercial Historic District protects 25 historic buildings.Old housesHalf of Narrows’s homes were built before 1946.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Narrows’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Retake an old viewNarrows High School Class of 1916: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

On the National Register

1 listing protects 25 historic buildings

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

place listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

2014

Narrows Commercial Historic District

in Virginia

#243

by listings

Districts

Narrows Commercial Historic DistrictDistrict

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

The story

How Narrows came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Narrows.

Read it all →

Settled as early as 1778, a post office was opened in 1873 and the town was incorporated in 1904.

From 1946 to 1950, the New River Rebels were a minor league baseball team representing Narrows and Pearisburg, Virginia . The New River Rebels were a member of the Class D Appalachian League from 1946 to 1950. The Rebels captured Appalachian League Championships in 1946 and 1947. The New River Rebels were an affiliate of the Chicago White Sox in 1946 and played at Ragsdale Field.

On December 22, 1996, Airborne Express Flight 827 crashed in Narrows, killing all six people on board.

The Narrows Commercial Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Narrows, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item

1916Narrows High School Class of 1916

1920s–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

Today5 recent

2003Untitled photo

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.

Retake this viewNarrows High School Class of 1916, 1916

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

Retake this view · +15

Famous people

Famous people close to Narrows

Nobody well known was born in Narrows itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →

John Forbes NashAmerican mathematician and economist · b. 1928

SekaAmerican pornographic actress · b. 1954

John B. FloydAmerican politician · b. 1806

Norman I. PlatnickAmerican arachnologist · b. 1951

Charlie BarnettAmerican actor and comedian · b. 1954

Rod ThornAmerican basketball player · b. 1941

Memory lane

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

Town Square →

Weigh in

Has Narrows changed for the better?

Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.

Start a conversation

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1) and Wikipedia. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.