Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Belle Haven

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
CHistory
History · Belle Haven

1 of Belle Haven’s places is on the National Register

More historic than 33% of U.S. towns · #125 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Mount Vernon Memorial Highway. Most of Belle Haven was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1957. Below: maps from 1900 on and the census since 2000.

1on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

About Belle Haven’s history

How historic is Belle Haven?

C

More historic than 33% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Belle Haven’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Belle Haven is more historic than 33% of U.S. towns, #125 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 Belle Haven’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19405.5% of homes (±2.2) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register1 listing, 1.5 per 10,000 residents · typical VA town 3.6 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 33%
NewerOlder
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 51%

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 Belle Haven’s 1.5 sits near the middle of its state (42% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±2.2 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: our sources. 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 Belle Haven’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 Belle Haven are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19006 editions of the USGS map, 1900 to 1983. Watch Belle Haven change.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Belle Haven, and 4 old place names are still on the map.Old housesHalf of Belle Haven’s homes were built before 1957.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Belle Haven’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Belle Haven’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
On the map

Belle Haven on the map, 1900 to 1983

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

Belle Haven on the 1900 USGS mapBelle Haven on the 1945 USGS mapBelle Haven on the 1951 USGS mapBelle Haven on the 1965 USGS mapBelle Haven on the 1971 USGS mapBelle Haven on the 1983 USGS map1900Washington 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 Belle Haven.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Another post office, New Alexandria, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Belle ViewNew AlexandriaSpring BankWestgrove
Gone or out of use
Bryant Intermediate SchoolschoolFort Willardmilitary

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

The story

How Belle Haven came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Belle Haven.

Read it all →

The name "Belle Haven" derives from when Scottish pioneers settled along the Potomac River in the early 18th century. They named the settlement after their favorite countryman, the Earl of Belhaven. This early settlement thrived along the Potomac River as a port and was later renamed "Alexandria". The area later became part of the West Grove Plantation, which was built by Hugh West around 1748. It capitalized on its close and favorable position to the newly forming town of Alexandria.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Belle Haven, 1893 to 1930

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1893Post officeThe New Alexandria post office opens
  3. 1898Post officeThe New Alexandria post office closes
  4. 20th century
  5. 1900On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1930BuiltMount Vernon Memorial Highway is built
By decade

Belle Haven, decade by decade

Today30 recent
Belle Haven Animal Medical Centre, closer view2024Belle Haven Animal Medical Centre, closer viewBack side of a bus shelter with graffiti on it2024Back side of a bus shelter with graffiti on itMarinara sauce at Roy Rogers2022Marinara sauce at Roy RogersMount Vernon REC Center exterior view2019Mount Vernon REC Center exterior viewGloomy day in2019Gloomy day inCondos in2019Condos inBelle View Blvd., early spring2019Belle View Blvd., early spring2019-08-12 12 52 06 View north along U.S. Route 1 (Richmond Highway) at the exit for Interstate 95-Interstate 495 (TO I…20192019-08-12 12 52 06 View north along U.S. Route 1 (Ri…2019-08-12 08 51 40 View south along U.S. Route 1 (Richmond Highway) at the exit for Old Richmond Highway (TO Fort Hunt…20192019-08-12 08 51 40 View south along U.S. Route 1 (Ri…Placid Dawn2018Placid Dawn2016-10-22 15 03 06 View south along the George Washington Memorial Parkway south of Interstate 95 and Interstate 495 (…20162016-10-22 15 03 06 View south along the George Washi…2016-10-16 16 24 51 View northeast across the Potomac River towards Interstate 95 and Interstate 495 (Woodrow Wilson Me…20162016-10-16 16 24 51 View northeast across the Potomac…House at Quander Road and Belle View Boulevard2015House at Quander Road and Belle View BoulevardHistoric Jones Point, Belle Haven Park, George Washington Memorial Parkway, Near Alexandria, Virginia2014Historic Jones Point, Belle Haven Park, George Washin…Belle Haven Park, George Washington Memorial Parkway, Near Alexandria, Virginia2014Belle Haven Park, George Washington Memorial Parkway,…Belle Haven Park, George Washington Memorial Parkway, Near Alexandria, Virginia2014Belle Haven Park, George Washington Memorial Parkway,…Mount Vernon Trail near Belle View2009Mount Vernon Trail near Belle ViewJones Point seen from2009Jones Point seen fromGeorgeWashingtonMemorialParkwaynearBelleHaven2009GeorgeWashingtonMemorialParkwaynearBelleHavenBelleHavenPark2009BelleHavenParkBelleHavenMarina2009BelleHavenMarinaBelleHavenApartments2009BelleHavenApartmentsBelle View, VA - more houses on the hill2009Belle View, VA - more houses on the hillBelle View, VA - houses on the hill2009Belle View, VA - houses on the hillBelle View, VA - houses near Fort Willard2009Belle View, VA - houses near Fort WillardBelle Haven, VA - stream2009Belle Haven, VA - streamBelle Haven, VA - park2009Belle Haven, VA - parkBelle Haven, VA - condos2009Belle Haven, VA - condosBelle Haven, VA - condo association building2009Belle Haven, VA - condo association buildingBelle Haven, VA - apartment block2009Belle Haven, VA - apartment block
On the National Register

1 historic place in Belle Haven

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
1981
Mount Vernon Memorial Highway
Mount Vernon Memorial Highway, built 1930
Structures

Architectural styles listings

Parkway1
Mount Vernon Memorial HighwayParkway · Built 1930

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

People over time

Belle Haven, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,5007,0007,50020002020Peak: 6,851

Between 6,269 and 6,851 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Belle Haven

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

See all →
Sandra BullockAmerican actress and film producer · b. 1964
Dermot MulroneyAmerican actor · b. 1963
Jeff KinneyAmerican author and cartoonist · b. 1971
Angus KingAmerican politician and lawyer · b. 1944
David M. BrownAmerican astronaut · b. 1956
K
Katie CouricAmerican journalist, presenter, producer, and a… · b. 1957
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Fort Hunt5 historic placesCGroveton2 historic placesC+HuntingtonIts storyDAlexandria45 historic placesA

Questions about Belle Haven’s history

How does Belle Haven rank for history?

Belle Haven is more historic than 33% of U.S. towns, #125 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 Belle Haven?

One place: the Mount Vernon Memorial Highway (listed 1981).

How old are the homes in Belle Haven?

6% of Belle Haven’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1957.

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 (30), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.