The story
Read it all →How Virgil came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Virgil.
The first post office in Virgil was established in 1863. The community may be named after Virgil, New York.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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History · Virgil
Virgil’s post office opened in 1863, and 53% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1885 on and the census since 1880.
1863first post office
0on the National Register
53%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Virgil began
When was Virgil founded?
1863
The Virgil post office opened in 1863, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 44 in 18802020 census: 48163 years
Founding year: the first Virgil post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Virgil’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Virgil are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18855 editions of the USGS map, 1885 to 1990. Watch Virgil change.Old housesHalf of Virgil’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 598 in 1930; 48 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Virgil’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Virgil’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Virgil on the map, 1885 to 1990
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Virgil. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1885Eureka sheet · 1:125,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Virgil.
Timeline
Virgil, 1863 to 1930
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1863Post officeThe Virgil post office opens
- 1885
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 20th century
- 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 598
By decade
Virgil, decade by decade
Today1 recent
2005People over time
Virgil, census by census
Peaked at 598 in 1930; 48 people lived here in 2020.
11 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Virgil’s Wikipedia page.
Questions about Virgil’s history
What year was Virgil founded?
The Virgil post office opened in 1863, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Start a conversation
Sources
Where this page comes from
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.