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History · Branchville

Branchville’s post office opened in 1852, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1966 on and the census since 1910.

1852first post office
0on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Nyttend · Public domain
Quick answers

How Branchville began

When was Branchville founded?

1852

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

First census: 239 in 19102020 census: 118174 years
Founding year: the first Branchville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Branchville’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 Branchville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1910 and 1990, then more than doubled.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Branchville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Branchville’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
People over time

Branchville, census by census

0100200192019401960198020002020239 in 1910Low: 55

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1910 and 1990, then more than doubled.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story so far

Branchville, in brief

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

Branchville is a town in Southampton County, Virginia, United States. The population was 118 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1852. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 114 to 118 (+4%).

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

Timeline

Branchville, 1852 to 1966

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1852Post officeThe Branchville post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 239
  5. 1966On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Branchville, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Branchville town hall and fire station2018Branchville town hall and fire stationBranchville community center2018Branchville community centerBranchville United Methodist Church2018Branchville United Methodist ChurchVAMap-doton-Branchville2005VAMap-doton-Branchville
On the map

Branchville on the map, 1966 to 1990

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

Branchville on the 1966 USGS mapBranchville on the 1984 USGS mapBranchville on the 1990 USGS map1966Boykins 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 Branchville.

Questions about Branchville’s history

What year was Branchville founded?

The Branchville post office opened in 1852, 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 (4), 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.