Washington’s history is
mostly unwritten
The public archives hold only 2 old photos of Washington. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗The first recorded official document relating to the land that became the town of Washington was a land grant in the year 1735 from King George II of Great Britain to Thomas, James, and Elizabeth Kennerly. The three siblings received 1,750 acres of land located "between the mountains and the fork of the Rushy River," in what was then Orange County, for importing six people into the colony of Virginia, payment of seven pounds five shillings of "good and lawful money," and an annual fee of one shilling for every fifty acres of land. At this time there were virtually no Native Americans in the area and the way was open to English settlement of the Piedmont region of Virginia.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowStart Washington’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Washington’s history is told.
1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewFarmer plowing his field of four …, 1940: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Washington
See all 6 →
Washington, decade by decade
1990s
3 historic places in Washington
Washington has 3 listings on the National Register, and they protect 149 historic buildings, because Washington Historic District alone counts 147.
Where they are
When they were listed
Listed 1975Washington Historic District
Listed 1982Calvert Mill/Washington Mill
Listed 2019Washington SchoolThen & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Farmer plowing his field of four acres. Near Washington, Virginia (1940) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (5) and the Library of Congress (1). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.