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CHistory
History · Bealeton

Bealeton’s post office opened in 1852, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 32% of U.S. towns · #129 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it

Most of Bealeton was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1998. Its Register listing is the St. James Baptist Church and Cemetery. Below: 12 old photos and papers and maps from 1894 on.

1852first post office
1on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Bealeton’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Bealeton began

When was Bealeton founded?

1852

The Bealeton post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 5,882174 years

How historic is Bealeton?

C

More historic than 32% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Bealeton’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bealeton is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #129 of 253 in Virginia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bealeton’s overall grade.
Founding era1852, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19405.5% of homes (±4.1) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register1 listing, 2.0 per 10,000 residents · typical VA town 3.6 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 32%
NewerOlder
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 49%

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 Bealeton’s 2.0 sits near the middle of its state (43% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.1 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 Bealeton’s past

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

On the map since 18945 editions of the USGS map, 1894 to 1978. Watch Bealeton change.A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers.
★ What stands out · On the map

Bealeton on the map, 1894 to 1978

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

Bealeton on the 1894 USGS mapBealeton on the 1927 USGS mapBealeton on the 1930 USGS mapBealeton on the 1966 USGS mapBealeton on the 1978 USGS map1894Warrenton 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 Bealeton.

By decade

Bealeton, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1860s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s12 items
Camp of Military Telegraph Corps, Bealeton, Va., August 18631863Camp of Military Telegraph Corps, Bealeton, Va., Augu…Bealeton, Va. Drum corps, 93d New York Infantry1863Bealeton, Va. Drum corps, 93d New York InfantryBealeton, Va. Company G, 93d New York Infantry1863Bealeton, Va. Company G, 93d New York InfantryBealeton, Va. Sutler's tent at Army of the Potomac headquarters1863Bealeton, Va. Sutler's tent at Army of the Potomac he…Bealeton, Va. Group of military telegraph operators, headquarters, Army of the Potomac1863Bealeton, Va. Group of military telegraph operators, …Bealeton, Va. Capt. Henry Page, assistant quartermaster, at Army of the Potomac headquarters1863Bealeton, Va. Capt. Henry Page, assistant quartermast…Bealeton, Va. Noncommissioned officers' mess of Co. D, 93d New York Infantry1863Bealeton, Va. Noncommissioned officers' mess of Co. D…Bealeton, Va. Group at tent and wagon of the New York Herald1863Bealeton, Va. Group at tent and wagon of the New York…Bealeton, Va. Officers and noncommissioned officers of Co. D, 93d New York Infantry1863Bealeton, Va. Officers and noncommissioned officers o…Officers' mess, Co. F, N.Y.V., near Bealton [i.e. Bealeton], Va., August, 18631863Officers' mess, Co. F, N.Y.V., near Bealton [i.e. Bea…Officers of 93d New York Infantry, Bealton [i.e1863Officers of 93d New York Infantry, Bealton [i.eHeadquarters of New York Herald, in the field - Bealton (i.e. Bealeton), Va., August 18631863Headquarters of New York Herald, in the field - Bealt…
The story

How Bealeton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bealeton.

Read it all →

Bealeton was originally a stop on the former Orange and Alexandria Railroad (absorbed ultimately into the Southern Railway in 1894, now Norfolk Southern), and the old railroad station building can be seen in the Bealeton Station development in front of the Bealeton Library building. The building was previously located on County Road 805, Bealeton Road, which runs parallel and near the railway. The area was a major traveling point during the Civil War and saw many skirmishes related to nearby engagements.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bealeton, 1852 to 1993

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1852Post officeThe Bealeton post office opens
  3. 1863In the archiveCamp of Military Telegraph Corps, Bealeton, Va., August 1863
  4. 1894On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1993Born hereJazmon Gwathmey is born here
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.

Camp of Military Telegraph Corps, Bealeton, Va., August 1863
Retake this viewCamp of Military Telegraph Corps, Bealeton, Va., August 1863, 1863

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Bealeton

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
2021
St. James Baptist Church and Cemetery
St. James Baptist Church and Cemetery
Buildings
All 1 listings
St. James Baptist Church and CemeteryBuilding · listed 2021

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

Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Bealeton’s post office has been open since 1852.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Oak ShadeWeaverville
1cemetery inside Bealeton
Cedar Grove

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

Help out

Finish Bealeton’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewCamp of Military Telegraph Corps, Beale…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Bealeton’s history

What year was Bealeton founded?

The Bealeton post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Bealeton rank for history?

Bealeton is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #129 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 Bealeton?

One place: the St. James Baptist Church and Cemetery (listed 2021).

How old are the homes in Bealeton?

6% of Bealeton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1998.

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 (1), the Library of Congress (11), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.