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History · Salvisa

Salvisa dates to 1816, and 32% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Burris House, the Cunningham House and the Joseph-Sharp McCoun D.S. House. Its Register listings are the Burris House, the Cunningham House and the Joseph-Sharp McCoun D.S. House. Below: maps from 1952 on.

1816founded
3on the National Register
32%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Salvisa began

When was Salvisa founded?

1816

Salvisa dates its founding to 1816 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1828.

2020 census: 410210 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1828.

What stands out about Salvisa’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 Salvisa are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsEstablished in 1816: 210 years of Salvisa.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Salvisa’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Timeline

Salvisa, 1816 to 1981

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1816
    FoundingSalvisa is established
  3. 1828Post officeThe Salvisa post office opens
  4. 1889Post officeThe Bondville post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1952On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1981Post officeThe Bondville post office closes
The story so far

Salvisa, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Salvisa yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Salvisa is a census-designated place in Mercer County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 census, Salvisa had a population of 410. Salvisa is located at the junction of U.S. Route 127 and Kentucky Route 1987, 10.7 miles (17.2 km) north of Harrodsburg. Salvisa has a post office with ZIP code 40372, which opened on April 4, 1825. Salvisa was laid out in 1816.

Salvisa was established in 1816. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 420 to 410 (-2%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Salvisa on the map, 1952 to 1967

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Salvisa. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Salvisa on the 1952 USGS mapSalvisa on the 1967 USGS map1952Salvisa sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Salvisa.

On the National Register

3 historic places in Salvisa

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1989
Burris House
Burris HouseCunningham HouseJoseph-Sharp McCoun D.S. House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
Italianate1
Gothic Revival1
Early Republic1
Federal1
All 3 listings
Burris HouseBuilding · listed 1989Cunningham HouseBuilding · listed 1989Joseph-Sharp McCoun D.S. HouseBuilding · listed 2005

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Salvisa’s post office has been open since 1828. Another post office, Bondville, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Salvisa
1828–today
Bondville
1889–1981
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bondville
Gone or out of use
Bondville Post Officepost officeSalvisa Railroad Stationlocale

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Salvisa’s history

What year was Salvisa founded?

In 1816, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Salvisa’s post office opened in 1828.

What is on the National Register in Salvisa?

Three places: the Burris House (listed 1989), the Cunningham House (1989) and the Joseph-Sharp McCoun D.S. House (2005).

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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 the National Register of Historic Places (3), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.