2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 297 buildings. Below: 17 old photos and papers, maps from 1958 on, and the census since 1930.
The Appomattox post office opened in 1839, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Nebraska (1855) and West Appomattox (1895), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 704 in 19302020 census: 1,919187 years
How historic is Appomattox?
A
More historic than 86% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Appomattox post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Appomattox’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Appomattox is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Appomattox’s overall grade.
Virginia towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Virginia town has 3.6 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Appomattox’s 1,440 sits above most of its state (98% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 300 historic buildings outnumber those of 95% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.3 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Appomattox’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
The town is named for the Appomattox River, which was named after the Appomattoc Native American tribe, one of the Algonquian-speaking Powhatan Confederacy, historically based in the coastal area and encountered by the English before the tribes of the Piedmont. The Appamatuck historically lived somewhat to the east of the present town, around the area of present-day Petersburg. At the time of European encounter, the area of Appomattox County above the Fall Line was part of the territory of the Manahoac tribe, who spoke a Siouan language.
The Appomattox post office opened in 1839, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Appomattox rank for history?
Appomattox is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Appomattox?
Two places: the Appomattox Historic District (listed 2002) and the Carver-Price School (2024).
How old are the homes in Appomattox?
11% of Appomattox’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.3 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1971.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (16), the Library of Congress (8), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
1860
1865
1865
1865
1920
1920
1920
1920
1933
1933
1933
1933
1933
1933
1933
1936
1989
2017
2016
2016
2016
2011
2011
2005
