Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Virgin

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Virgin

Virgin dates to 1857, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Virgin was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2003. Its Register listing is the James Jepson Jr. House. Below: maps from 1954 on and the census since 1860.

1857founded
1on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Virgin began

When was Virgin founded?

1857

Virgin dates its founding to 1857 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1860.

First census: 79 in 18602020 census: 670169 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1860.

What stands out about Virgin’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 Virgin are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1900 and 1970, then grew 5-fold.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Virgin’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Virgin’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
People over time

Virgin, census by census

0100200300400500600700190019502000269 in 1900Low: 119

Lost half of its people between 1900 and 1970, then grew 5-fold.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Virgin’s Wikipedia page.

The story so far

Virgin, in brief

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

Virgin is a town in Washington County, Utah, United States. The population was 670 at the 2020 census. The first settlement at Virgin was made in 1858. It is located along the Virgin River (for which it is named), and not far from Zion National Park. The elevation is 3,606 feet (1,099 m). It lies on State Route 9.

Virgin was established in 1857. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 596 to 670 (+12%).

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

Timeline

Virgin, 1857 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1857
    FoundingVirgin is established
  3. 1860Post officeThe Virgin City post office opens
  4. 1877BuiltJames Jepson Jr. House is built
  5. 1895Post officeThe Virgin City post office closes
  6. 1895Post officeThe Virgin post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 21st century
  10. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 670
By decade

Virgin, decade by decade

Today23 recent
An old cafe, now (as of 2022) mostly a bookstore, in the town of Virgin in southwest Utah2022An old cafe, now (as of 2022) mostly a bookstore, in …A colorful wall of the Red Coyote Cyclery in the town of Virgin in southwest Utah2022A colorful wall of the Red Coyote Cyclery in the town…An Old West theme-park version of the actual town of Virgin in southwest Utah2022An Old West theme-park version of the actual town of …USA - Far West2014USA - Far WestRim Trail in Hurricane, Utah2014Rim Trail in Hurricane, UtahRanch Gate, Virgin, UT 20142014Ranch Gate, Virgin, UT 2014Old Red Bull Rampage Course2014Old Red Bull Rampage CourseUtah State Highway 92013Utah State Highway 9Utah State Highway 92013Utah State Highway 9Utah State Highway 92013Utah State Highway 9Utah State Highway 92013Utah State Highway 9Utah State Highway 92013Utah State Highway 9Utah State Highway 92013Utah State Highway 9Utah State Highway 92013Utah State Highway 9Utah State Highway 92013Utah State Highway 9Utah State Highway 92013Utah State Highway 9Utah State Highway 92013Utah State Highway 9Utah State Highway 92013Utah State Highway 9Utah State Highway 92013Utah State Highway 9Utah State Highway 92013Utah State Highway 9Chinle, Petrified Forest member2012Chinle, Petrified Forest memberUntitled photo2010Untitled photoVIRGIN UTAH2009VIRGIN UTAH
On the map

Virgin on the map, 1954 to 1980

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

Virgin on the 1954 USGS mapVirgin on the 1980 USGS map1954La Verkin 4 NW 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 Virgin.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Virgin

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2000
James Jepson Jr. House
James Jepson Jr. House, built 1877
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Vernacular Classical1
Double-cell1
James Jepson Jr. HouseVernacular Classical · Built 1877

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 and burying grounds

Virgin’s post office has been open since 1895. Another post office, Virgin City, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Virgin City
1860–1895
Virgin
1895–today
18601940today
1cemetery inside Virgin
Virgin

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

La Verkin2 historic placesC

Questions about Virgin’s history

What year was Virgin founded?

In 1857, according to Wikidata. Virgin’s post office opened in 1860, and the census of 1860 counted 79 people here.

What is on the National Register in Virgin?

One place: the James Jepson Jr. House (listed 2000).

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 Wikimedia Commons (20), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.