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History · Camptown

17% of Camptown’s homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Oak Crest. Below: maps from 1920 on.

1on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Camptown’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 Camptown are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19206 editions of the USGS map, 1920 to 1980. Watch Camptown change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Camptown’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Camptown’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

Camptown on the map, 1920 to 1980

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

Camptown on the 1920 USGS mapCamptown on the 1943 USGS mapCamptown on the 1957 USGS mapCamptown on the 1967 USGS mapCamptown on the 1973 USGS mapCamptown on the 1980 USGS map1920Holland 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 Camptown.

The story so far

Camptown, in brief

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

Camptown is a census-designated place in Isle of Wight County, Virginia, United States, lying just east of Franklin. As of the 2020 census, Camptown had a population of 718. The International Paper mill (formerly Union Camp, now closed) is here along with a Black community known as Camptown.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 766 to 718 (-6%).

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

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the National Register

1 historic place in Camptown

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
5
each building in a district counts
first listed
1999
Oak Crest
Oak Crest
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Federal1
Oak CrestFederal

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Camptown

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

See all →
Charlie ByrdAmerican jazz guitarist · b. 1925
Della H. RaneyAfrican-American army nurse · b. 1912
E
Ella MitchellAmerican actress · b. 1937
Lewis F. Powell Jr.American jurist (1907–1998); US Supreme Court j… · b. 1907
Richard HudsonAmerican businessman and politician · b. 1971
Rory SparrowAmerican basketball player · b. 1958
Places that used to be

Old corners and places now gone

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Lees Mill
Gone or out of use
Allen Schoolschool

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.

Franklin4 historic placesB+

Questions about Camptown’s history

What is on the National Register in Camptown?

One place: the Oak Crest (listed 1999).

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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.