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DHistory
History · Centreville

Half of Centreville’s homes were built after 1991

More historic than 6% of U.S. towns · #206 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it

Most of Centreville was built recently: 0.8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. Below: 24 old photos and papers, maps from 1915 on, and the census since 1980.

0on the National Register
0.8%homes built before 1940
24old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Centreville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

About Centreville’s history

How historic is Centreville?

D

More historic than 6% 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 Centreville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Centreville is more historic than 6% of U.S. towns, #206 of 253 in Virginia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Centreville’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19400.8% of homes (±0.4) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%DNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical VA town 3.6 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 6%
NewerOlder
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 19%

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 Centreville’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (17% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% 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 (±0.4 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 Centreville’s past

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

A town in old photos24 old photos, postcards and papers.Lost villages4 hamlets and corners are still on the map.On the map since 19157 editions of the USGS map, 1915 to 1990. Watch Centreville change.
★ What stands out · By decade

Centreville, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1860s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s24 items
Camp scene, abandoned winter quarters, Centerville, Va. 1862c. 1860Camp scene, abandoned winter quarters, Centerville, V…Camp scene, abandoned winter quarters, Centerville, Va. 1862c. 1860Camp scene, abandoned winter quarters, Centerville, V…Camp scene, abandoned winter quarters, Centerville, Va. 1862c. 1860Camp scene, abandoned winter quarters, Centerville, V…Camp scene, abandoned winter quarters, Centerville, Va. 1862c. 1860Camp scene, abandoned winter quarters, Centerville, V…Deserted Village, Centerville, Vac. 1860Deserted Village, Centerville, VaRebel works on the heights of Centerville [sic]1860Rebel works on the heights of Centerville [sic]Camp of the Union forces at Centreville, Va. Winter 1861-621861Camp of the Union forces at Centreville, Va. Winter 1…Confederate Winter Camp 03888v1861–1862Confederate Winter Camp 03888vWinter quarters at Centreville, Va1861Winter quarters at Centreville, VaCamp of the Union forces at Centreville, Va. Winter 1861-621861Camp of the Union forces at Centreville, Va. Winter 1…Grigsby's house1861Grigsby's houseDeparture from the old homestead1861Departure from the old homestead"Departure from the old Homestead"1862"Departure from the old Homestead"[Centreville, Va. Fort on the heights, with Quaker guns]1862[Centreville, Va. Fort on the heights, with Quaker gu…Centreville. Fort on the heights (a.k.a. Manassas Junction), with Quaker Guns1862Centreville. Fort on the heights (a.k.a. Manassas Jun…[Centreville, Va. Fort on the heights, with Quaker guns]1862[Centreville, Va. Fort on the heights, with Quaker gu…[Centreville, Va. Fort on the heights, with Quaker guns]1862[Centreville, Va. Fort on the heights, with Quaker gu…Centreville, Virginia. Confederate fort on the heights with Quaker guns LOC cwpb.013521862Centreville, Virginia. Confederate fort on the height…Centreville, Virginia. Confederate fort with Quaker gun LOC cwpb.013531862Centreville, Virginia. Confederate fort with Quaker g…Centreville, Virginia. Grigsby house, headquarters of General Joseph E. Johnston LOC cwpb.009401862Centreville, Virginia. Grigsby house, headquarters of…Centreville, Virginia. Quaker gun LOC cwpb.009411862Centreville, Virginia. Quaker gun LOC cwpb.00941Departure from the old homestead, Centreville "And trembling, shrinking from the spoilers hand, far, far away, thy chil…1862Departure from the old homestead, Centreville "And tr…[Group of Federal soldiers in Confederate fort on heights of Centreville with Quaker guns]1862[Group of Federal soldiers in Confederate fort on hei…Fortifications on heights of Centreville, Virginia - negative by Barnard & Gibson ; positive by A. Gardner1862Fortifications on heights of Centreville, Virginia - …
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Centreville’s post office has been open since 1797.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Centre HeightsCentreville FarmsLondon TowneUniontown
Gone or out of use
Cub Run Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Centreville
Butler - Jones FamilySaint John's Episcopal ChurchUnnamed Cemetery - Compton Valley Way

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

On the map

Centreville on the map, 1915 to 1990

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

Centreville on the 1915 USGS mapCentreville on the 1944 USGS mapCentreville on the 1951 USGS mapCentreville on the 1966 USGS mapCentreville on the 1971 USGS mapCentreville on the 1983 USGS mapCentreville on the 1990 USGS map1915Fairfax 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 Centreville.

The story

How Centreville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Centreville.

Read it all →

Beginning in the 1760s, the area was known as Newgate due to the popularity of the conveniently located Newgate tavern. William Carr Lane operated the tavern and was co-proprietor of a nearby store with James Lane, Jr. The Lanes sold convicted servants, which may explain why the tavern had the same name as a London prison. The small stream that passed near the tavern was named the River Thames, another London association. Another reason for it being named Newgate was that it was a "new gate" to the western territories.

ChaptersColonial period18th century20th and 21st centuries

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Centreville, 1797 to 1985

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1797Post officeThe Centreville post office opens
  3. 19th century
  4. 1860In the archiveCamp scene, abandoned winter quarters, Centerville, Va. 1862
  5. 20th century
  6. 1915On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1985Born hereRichard Taylor is born here
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.

Camp scene, abandoned winter quarters, Centerville, Va. 1862
Retake this viewCamp scene, abandoned winter quarters, Centerville, Va. 1862, c. 1860

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Centreville, census by census

020,00040,00060,00080,00019802000202073,518

Grew from 7,473 people in 1980 to 73,518 in 2020, 9 times over.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

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

Help out

Finish Centreville’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewCamp scene, abandoned winter quarters, …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Bull RunIts storyCChantilly1 historic placeB−Union MillIts storyDFair LakesIts storyD−

Questions about Centreville’s history

How does Centreville rank for history?

Centreville is more historic than 6% of U.S. towns, #206 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.

How old are the homes in Centreville?

0.8% of Centreville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1991.

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 (19), the Library of Congress (5), 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) 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.