Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 9% of U.S. towns · #186 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it
Most of Chamberlayne was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. Below: maps from 1894 on and the census since 1980.
More historic than 9% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Chamberlayne is more historic than 9% of U.S. towns, #186 of 253 in Virginia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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 Chamberlayne’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.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Chamberlayne’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Chamberlayne. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Chamberlayne.
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Chamberlayne yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Chamberlayne is a census-designated place (CDP) in Henrico County, Virginia, United States. The population was 5,581 at the 2020 census.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 5,456 to 5,581 (+2%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Between 4,380 and 5,581 people in every census since 1980.
5 censuses, 1980–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Chamberlayne’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Chamberlayne itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Chamberlayne is more historic than 9% of U.S. towns, #186 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.
2% of Chamberlayne’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.9 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1974.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
