Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Most of Fincastle was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: maps from 1905 on and the census since 1980.
Fincastle dates its founding to 1974 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1980.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Fincastle’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Fincastle. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Fincastle.
From Wikipedia’s history of Fincastle.
Fincastle was incorporated on January 25, 1974. According to the city's website, the name "is a historical relic from the formation of Kentucky County, Virginia. This county was the precursor to the Commonwealth of Kentucky and was formed from Fincastle County, Virginia, in 1776".
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Between 804 and 848 people in every census since 1980.
5 censuses, 1980–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Fincastle’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Fincastle itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
In 1974, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1980 counted 804 people here.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
