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History · Bastian

Bastian’s post office opened in 1915, and 41% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 2 old photos and papers and maps from 1956 on.

1915first post office
0on the National Register
41%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Bastian’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Bastian began

When was Bastian founded?

1915

The Bastian post office opened in 1915, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 343111 years
Founding year: the first Bastian post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Bastian’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Bastian’s homes were built before 1950.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bastian’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewLittle Wolf Creek footbridge on the App…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Bastian came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bastian.

Read it all →

The small Appalachian town of Bastian, Virginia, was first settled between the years of 1905 and 1908. Bastian was originally named Parkersburg after Parker Hornbarger, who, along with Jack Hager, owned most of the land the town was built upon. Much of this land was later owned by both James Starks and Eli Leedy. The name "Bastian" came from the manager of Bland County's only railroad, F.E. Bastian. The children of Bastian attended a one-room schoolhouse until 1923, when a larger school was built. Schools located near Hunting Camp Creek accommodated local students until then. With the arrival of the Virginia Hardwood Lumber Company in 1927, Bastian's population greatly increased. This increase made additional classrooms a necessity. Several small schools were built during this time. It was not until 1955, however, that the modern brick Bastian Elementary school building was built at the…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bastian, 1915 to 1980

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1915Post officeThe Bastian post office opens
  3. 1956On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1980In the archiveLittle Wolf Creek footbridge on the Appalachian Trail near Bastian, Virginia
By decade

Bastian, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1980s2 items
Little Wolf Creek footbridge on the Appalachian Trail near Bastian, Virginia1980Little Wolf Creek footbridge on the Appalachian Trail…This is more of a shelter for hay bales than a barn in rural Virginia1980This is more of a shelter for hay bales than a barn i…
1990snothing 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
Today1 recent
Bastian, Virginia2013Bastian, Virginia
On the map

Bastian on the map, 1956 to 1977

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

Bastian on the 1956 USGS mapBastian on the 1968 USGS mapBastian on the 1977 USGS map1956Bland sheet · 1:62,500

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

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.

Little Wolf Creek footbridge on the Appalachian Trail near Bastian, Virginia
Retake this viewLittle Wolf Creek footbridge on the Appalachian Trail near Bastian, Virginia, 1980

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Bastian

Nobody well known was born in Bastian itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
John Forbes NashAmerican mathematician and economist · b. 1928
Edith Bolling Galt WilsonFirst Lady of the United States from 1915 to 19… · b. 1872
Norman I. PlatnickAmerican arachnologist · b. 1951
Kathryn HarroldAmerican actress · b. 1950
C
Charlie BarnettAmerican actor and comedian · b. 1954
Fred M. WilcoxAmerican film director · b. 1907

Questions about Bastian’s history

What year was Bastian founded?

The Bastian post office opened in 1915, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (1), the Library of Congress (2), Wikipedia, 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.