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B+History
History · Ashland

Ashland’s post office opened in 1856, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 71% of U.S. towns · #56 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 396 buildings between them. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1908 on, and the census since 1860.

1856first post office
4on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
7famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Ashland’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Ashland began

When was Ashland founded?

1856

The Ashland post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1858. Another post office, Slash Cottage (1851), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 148 in 18602020 census: 7,565170 years

How historic is Ashland?

B+

More historic than 71% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Ashland post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1858.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Ashland’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ashland is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns, #56 of 253 in Virginia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ashland’s overall grade.
Founding era1856, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194014.0% of homes (±5.3) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register4 listings, 399 historic buildings, 513 per 10,000 residents · typical VA town 3.6 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 71%
NewerOlder
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 78%

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 Ashland’s 513 sits above most of its state (90% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 399 historic buildings outnumber those of 96% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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; Wikidata’s 1858 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

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 Ashland’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A historic districtThe Ashland Historic District takes in 321 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1908 to 1921, drew every building in Ashland.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

4 listings protect 399 historic buildings

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
399
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Randolph-Macon College Buildings
Randolph-Macon College Buildings, built 1830Ashland Historic DistrictMacmurdo HouseBerkleytown Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Italianate1
Gothic Revival1
Randolph-Macon College BuildingsItalianate · Built 1830
Ashland Historic DistrictDistrict
All 4 listings
Macmurdo HouseBuilding · listed 2021Berkleytown Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2022

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

Help out

Start Ashland’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view"Hickory Hill," Colonel Henry Taylor Wi…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Ashland, building by building, 1908–1921

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Ashland fire insurance map, 1908, sheet 11908Sheet 1 of 3
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Ashland came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Ashland.

Read it all →

The Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad initially developed the town in the 1840s as a mineral springs resort with a racetrack. The town was named "Ashland" after native son Henry Clay's estate in Kentucky and was officially incorporated on February 19, 1858. The area had been known as "The Slashes", sometimes translated as "swamp", but which also reflected the small ravines that formed in the sandy clay soil after hard rains.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Ashland, 1794 to 1999

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1794Born hereEmily Harvie Thomas Tubman is born here
  3. 19th century
  4. 1830BuiltRandolph-Macon College Buildings is built
  5. 1851Post officeThe Slash Cottage post office opens
  6. 1856Post officeThe Ashland post office opens
  7. 1857Post officeThe Slash Cottage post office closes
  8. 20th century
  9. 1908Born hereMartha Dodd is born here
  10. 1917Born hereJohnny Davis is born here
  11. 1927In the archive"Hickory Hill," Colonel Henry Taylor Wickham house
  12. 1929Born hereChristian Compton is born here
  13. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  14. 1968In the archiveRF&P 1012 with Train 85, The Everglades, creeping through Ashland, VA on November 16, 1968
  15. 1999In the archive19990205 22 CSX
By decade

Ashland, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1920s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s2 items
"Hickory Hill," Colonel Henry Taylor Wickham house1927"Hickory Hill," Colonel Henry Taylor Wickham house"Hickory Hill," Colonel Henry Taylor Wickham house1927"Hickory Hill," Colonel Henry Taylor Wickham house
1930s–1950snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
1960s–1990s2 items
RF&P 1012 with Train 85, The Everglades, creeping through Ashland, VA on November 16, 19681968RF&P 1012 with Train 85, The Everglades, creeping thr…19990205 22 CSX199919990205 22 CSX
Today14 recent
Food Lion (former Martin's)2017Food Lion (former Martin's)Food Lion (former Martin's)2017Food Lion (former Martin's)Food Lion (former Martin's)2017Food Lion (former Martin's)19990205 21 CSX201519990205 21 CSXUS Route 1 - Virginia2012US Route 1 - VirginiaUS Route 1 - Virginia2012US Route 1 - VirginiaState Fair tent2012State Fair tentAshland Theater - Ashland, Virginia - Sarah Stierch2011Ashland Theater - Ashland, Virginia - Sarah StierchNorthbound Amtrak Auto-Train2009Northbound Amtrak Auto-TrainWarner greets folks on Main Street2008Warner greets folks on Main StreetAshland12007Ashland1Keeble Observatory old oblique2006Keeble Observatory old obliqueKeeble Observatory old front2006Keeble Observatory old frontVAMap-doton-Ashland2005VAMap-doton-Ashland
On the map

Ashland on the map, 1951 to 1981

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

Ashland on the 1951 USGS mapAshland on the 1969 USGS mapAshland on the 1974 USGS mapAshland on the 1981 USGS map1951Ashland 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 Ashland.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

"Hickory Hill," Colonel Henry Taylor Wickham house
Retake this view"Hickory Hill," Colonel Henry Taylor Wickham house, 1927

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Ashland’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Ashland, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,0001900195020007,565

Grew from 148 people in 1860 to 7,565 in 2020, more than tenfold.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

Famous people

7 famous people were born in Ashland

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
M
Martha DoddAmerican journalist, novelist and spy for the S… · b. 1908
C
Christian ComptonAmerican politician · b. 1929
J
Johnny DavisAmerican baseball player · b. 1917
E
Emily Harvie Thomas TubmanAmerican philanthropist · b. 1794
E
Erron KinneyAmerican football player · b. 1977
A
Alfred Douglas PriceAmerican businessman, community leader · b. 1860
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Ashland’s post office has been open since 1856. Another post office, Slash Cottage, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Slash Cottage
1851–1857
Ashland
1856–today
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Sedgefield Mobile Home ParkSlash Cottage
Gone or out of use
Duncan Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church Southchurch

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

Questions about Ashland’s history

What year was Ashland founded?

The Ashland post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1858.

How does Ashland rank for history?

Ashland is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns, #56 of 253 in Virginia. 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 Ashland?

4 listings: 2 buildings, among them the Randolph-Macon College Buildings (listed 1979, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Ashland Historic District and the Berkleytown Historic District, with 396 contributing buildings. 399 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Ashland?

14% of Ashland’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 1983.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (16), the Library of Congress (2), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.