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A−History
History · Blackstone

Blackstone’s post office opened in 1886, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 79% of U.S. towns · #42 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 272 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1898 on, and the census since 1890.

1886first post office
2on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Blackstone’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Blackstone began

When was Blackstone founded?

1886

The Blackstone post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Blacks And Whites (1813) and Bellefont (1875), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 580 in 18902020 census: 3,352140 years

How historic is Blackstone?

A−

More historic than 79% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Blackstone’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Blackstone is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns, #42 of 253 in Virginia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Blackstone’s overall grade.
Founding era1886, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194019.8% of homes (±6.8) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register2 listings, 273 historic buildings, 817 per 10,000 residents · typical VA town 3.6 · U.S. 2.4A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 79%
NewerOlder
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 84%

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 Blackstone’s 817 sits above most of its state (96% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 273 historic buildings outnumber those of 95% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.8 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 Blackstone’s past

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

A historic districtThe Blackstone Historic District takes in 272 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1898 to 1925, drew every building in Blackstone.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Blackstone.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

2 listings protect 273 historic buildings

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
273
each building in a district counts
first listed
1974
Schwartz Tavern
Schwartz TavernBlackstone Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Federal1
Queen Anne1
Romanesque Revival1
Late Gothic1
Colonial Revival1
Bungalow1
Schwartz TavernFederal
Blackstone Historic DistrictQueen Anne

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

Help out

Start Blackstone’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Blackstone’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 viewDiesel Engine 1930s 12 of 48: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Blackstone, building by building, 1898–1925

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.

Blackstone fire insurance map, 1898, sheet 11898Sheet 1 of 2
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 Blackstone came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Blackstone.

Read it all →

The settlement was founded as the village of "Blacks and Whites", so named after two tavern keepers, before the Revolutionary War. It was renamed Bellefonte on May 11, 1875, and back to Blacks and Whites on August 4, 1882. On February 23, 1886, the town was incorporated with the name of Blackstone, in honor of the influential English jurist William Blackstone.

The Blackstone Historic District, Butterwood Methodist Church and Butterwood Cemetery, Little Mountain Pictograph Site, Oakridge, and Schwartz Tavern are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Blackstone, 1813 to 1969

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1813Post officeThe Blacks And Whites post office opens
  3. 1842Born hereJames F. Epes is born here
  4. 1875Post officeThe Bellefont post office opens
  5. 1882Post officeThe Bellefont post office closes
  6. 1886Post officeThe Blacks And Whites post office closes
  7. 1886Post officeThe Blackstone post office opens
  8. 1899Born hereIsham Hardy is born here
  9. 20th century
  10. 1909Born hereJohn Segar Gravatt is born here
  11. 1930In the archiveDiesel Engine 1930s 12 of 48
  12. 1966On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  13. 1969Born hereRobert Jones is born here
By decade

Blackstone, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s1 item
Diesel Engine 1930s 12 of 481930Diesel Engine 1930s 12 of 48
1940s–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
Today5 recent
Blackstone College Historical Marker2010Blackstone College Historical MarkerBlackstone Baptist Church2010Blackstone Baptist Church4, VA, USA - panoramio (1)20104, VA, USA - panoramio (1)Blackstonetoday2007BlackstonetodayVAMap-doton-Blackstone2005VAMap-doton-Blackstone
On the map

Blackstone on the map, 1966 to 1981

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

Blackstone on the 1966 USGS mapBlackstone on the 1974 USGS mapBlackstone on the 1981 USGS map1966Blackstone East 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 Blackstone.

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.

Diesel Engine 1930s 12 of 48
Retake this viewDiesel Engine 1930s 12 of 48, 1930

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Blackstone, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 3,675

Between 580 and 3,675 people in every census since 1890.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Blackstone

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

See all →
James F. EpesAmerican politician · b. 1842
R
Robert JonesAmerican football player · b. 1969
I
Isham HardyAmerican professional football player · b. 1899
J
John Segar GravattAmerican lawyer · b. 1909
J
John A. Tyreeb. 1911
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Blackstone’s post office has been open since 1886. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Blacks And Whites
1813–1886
Bellefont
1875–1882
Blackstone
1886–today
18101920today
Gone or out of use
Blackstone College for GirlsschoolBlackstone Military AcademyschoolNottoway County Training Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Blackstone
Lakeview

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

Questions about Blackstone’s history

What year was Blackstone founded?

The Blackstone post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Blackstone rank for history?

Blackstone is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns, #42 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 Blackstone?

Two places: the Schwartz Tavern (listed 1974) and the Blackstone Historic District (1991).

How old are the homes in Blackstone?

20% of Blackstone’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.8 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1966.

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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.