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B−History
History · Bensley

2 of Bensley’s places are on the National Register

More historic than 50% of U.S. towns · #88 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Bridge at Falling Creek and the Falling Creek UDC Jefferson Davis Highway Marker. Most of Bensley was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1968. Below: maps from 1894 on and the census since 2000.

2on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

About Bensley’s history

How historic is Bensley?

B−

More historic than 50% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
History grade

What drives Bensley’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bensley is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #88 of 253 in Virginia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bensley’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19409.9% of homes (±7.1) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register2 listings, 3.4 per 10,000 residents · typical VA town 3.6 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 50%
NewerOlder
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 65%

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 Bensley’s 3.4 sits near the middle of its state (45% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±7.1 points).

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 Bensley’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 Bensley are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18948 editions of the USGS map, 1894 to 1994. Watch Bensley change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bensley’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Bensley on the map, 1894 to 1994

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

Bensley on the 1894 USGS mapBensley on the 1938 USGS mapBensley on the 1946 USGS mapBensley on the 1952 USGS mapBensley on the 1969 USGS mapBensley on the 1974 USGS mapBensley on the 1980 USGS mapBensley on the 1994 USGS map1894Bermuda Hundred 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 Bensley.

The story so far

Bensley, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Bensley yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Bensley is a census-designated place (CDP) in Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States. It is an inner suburb of Richmond. The population was 5,971 at the 2020 census. Bensley Community building is inside of Bensley park. The community building is outside of Bensley, setting in walking distance of the CDP. The community is an old village with no active government. The community is over 100 years old. A new police substation in the village is next to the old Bensley Bermuda Rescue Squad, near DuPont Spruance.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 5,819 to 5,971 (+3%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Bensley, 1873 to 1961

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873Post officeThe Drewrys Bluff post office opens
  3. 1894On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1961Post officeThe Drewrys Bluff post office closes
By decade

Bensley, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Bensley community building2017Bensley community building2017-09-08 08 30 57 View north along Virginia State Route 150 (Chippenham Parkway) at U.S. Route 1 and U.S. Route 301 (…20172017-09-08 08 30 57 View north along Virginia State R…
On the National Register

2 historic places in Bensley

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1995
Bridge at Falling Creek
Bridge at Falling CreekFalling Creek UDC Jefferson Davis Highway Marker
StructuresObjects
Bridge at Falling CreekStructure
Falling Creek UDC Jefferson Davis Highway MarkerObject

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

People over time

Bensley, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,50020002020Peak: 5,971

Between 5,453 and 5,971 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Drewrys Bluff, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Ampt HillBensley Village
Gone or out of use
Old Stone Bridgebridge
1cemetery inside Bensley
Cary

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Bellwood2 historic placesC+MeadowbrookIts storyDRichmond234 historic placesA+

Questions about Bensley’s history

How does Bensley rank for history?

Bensley is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #88 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 Bensley?

Two places: the Bridge at Falling Creek (listed 1995) and the Falling Creek UDC Jefferson Davis Highway Marker (2013).

How old are the homes in Bensley?

10% of Bensley’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.1 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1968.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.