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History · Charles City

Charles City’s post office opened in 1801, and 43% of its homes were built before 1940

5 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 18 old photos and papers and maps from 1918 on.

1801first post office
5on the National Register
43%homes built before 1940
18old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Charles City’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Charles City began

When was Charles City founded?

1801

The Charles City post office opened in 1801, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 104225 years
Founding year: the first Charles City post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Charles City’s past

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

A town in old photos18 old photos, postcards and papers.On the map since 19185 editions of the USGS map, 1918 to 1987. Watch Charles City change.Deep rootsA post office since 1801: 225 years of Charles City.Landmarks on the Register5 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · By decade

Charles City, decade by decade

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

1930s18 items
Charles City County Courthouse, State Route 5, Charles City, Charles City, VA1933Charles City County Courthouse, State Route 5, Charle…Charles City County Courthouse, State Route 5, Charles City, Charles City, VA1933Charles City County Courthouse, State Route 5, Charle…HABS VA,19-CHARC.V,2- (sheet 0 of 11) - Farmington, Morris Creek vicinity, Charles City, Charles City, VA1933HABS VA,19-CHARC.V,2- (sheet 0 of 11) - Farmington, M…HABS VA,19-CHARC.V,2- (sheet 0 of 11) - Farmington, Morris Creek vicinity, Charles City, Charles City, VA1933HABS VA,19-CHARC.V,2- (sheet 0 of 11) - Farmington, M…HABS VA,19-CHARC.V,2- (sheet 1 of 11) - Farmington, Morris Creek vicinity, Charles City, Charles City, VA1933HABS VA,19-CHARC.V,2- (sheet 1 of 11) - Farmington, M…HABS VA,19-CHARC.V,2- (sheet 1 of 11) - Farmington, Morris Creek vicinity, Charles City, Charles City, VA1933HABS VA,19-CHARC.V,2- (sheet 1 of 11) - Farmington, M…HABS VA,19-CHARC.V,2- (sheet 10 of 11) - Farmington, Morris Creek vicinity, Charles City, Charles City, VA1933HABS VA,19-CHARC.V,2- (sheet 10 of 11) - Farmington, …HABS VA,19-CHARC.V,2- (sheet 10 of 11) - Farmington, Morris Creek vicinity, Charles City, Charles City, VA1933HABS VA,19-CHARC.V,2- (sheet 10 of 11) - Farmington, …HABS VA,19-CHARC.V,2- (sheet 11 of 11) - Farmington, Morris Creek vicinity, Charles City, Charles City, VA1933HABS VA,19-CHARC.V,2- (sheet 11 of 11) - Farmington, …HABS VA,19-CHARC.V,2- (sheet 11 of 11) - Farmington, Morris Creek vicinity, Charles City, Charles City, VA1933HABS VA,19-CHARC.V,2- (sheet 11 of 11) - Farmington, …HABS VA,19-CHARC.V,2- (sheet 2 of 11) - Farmington, Morris Creek vicinity, Charles City, Charles City, VA1933HABS VA,19-CHARC.V,2- (sheet 2 of 11) - Farmington, M…HABS VA,19-CHARC.V,2- (sheet 2 of 11) - Farmington, Morris Creek vicinity, Charles City, Charles City, VA1933HABS VA,19-CHARC.V,2- (sheet 2 of 11) - Farmington, M…HABS VA,19-CHARC.V,2- (sheet 3 of 11) - Farmington, Morris Creek vicinity, Charles City, Charles City, VA1933HABS VA,19-CHARC.V,2- (sheet 3 of 11) - Farmington, M…HABS VA,19-CHARC.V,2- (sheet 3 of 11) - Farmington, Morris Creek vicinity, Charles City, Charles City, VA1933HABS VA,19-CHARC.V,2- (sheet 3 of 11) - Farmington, M…HABS VA,19-CHARC.V,2- (sheet 4 of 11) - Farmington, Morris Creek vicinity, Charles City, Charles City, VA1933HABS VA,19-CHARC.V,2- (sheet 4 of 11) - Farmington, M…HABS VA,19-CHARC.V,2- (sheet 4 of 11) - Farmington, Morris Creek vicinity, Charles City, Charles City, VA1933HABS VA,19-CHARC.V,2- (sheet 4 of 11) - Farmington, M…HABS VA,19-CHARC.V,2- (sheet 5 of 11) - Farmington, Morris Creek vicinity, Charles City, Charles City, VA1933HABS VA,19-CHARC.V,2- (sheet 5 of 11) - Farmington, M…HABS VA,19-CHARC.V,2- (sheet 5 of 11) - Farmington, Morris Creek vicinity, Charles City, Charles City, VA1933HABS VA,19-CHARC.V,2- (sheet 5 of 11) - Farmington, M…
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
On the map

Charles City on the map, 1918 to 1987

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

Charles City on the 1918 USGS mapCharles City on the 1953 USGS mapCharles City on the 1965 USGS mapCharles City on the 1974 USGS mapCharles City on the 1987 USGS map1918Charles City 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 Charles City.

Timeline

Charles City, 1700 to 1933

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1700BuiltBelle Air is built
  3. 1728Born hereWilliam Byrd III is born here
  4. 1740Born hereCharles Harrison is born here
  5. 1780Born hereFreeman Walker is born here
  6. 19th century
  7. 1801Post officeThe Charles City post office opens
  8. 20th century
  9. 1918On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1929Born hereJames Bradby is born here
  11. 1933In the archiveCharles City County Courthouse, State Route 5, Charles City, Charles City, VA
The story

How Charles City came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Charles City.

Read it all →

The area was originally populated by the Chickahominy, Paspahegh and Weyanock Native Americans followed by English settlers in 1607 and 20 enslaved Africans in 1618. After the Virginia Company founded Charles Cittie in 1619 as on of the first four "boroughs" Virginia, courthouses were successively built along the James River at Westover, then City Point and in the 1750s in the town of Charles City. The original Charles City County Courthouse remains today. Charles City serves as the central hub for local government in the county and as a central node for services including a library, bank, post office, and local schools.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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.

Charles City County Courthouse, State Route 5, Charles City, Charles City, VA
Retake this viewCharles City County Courthouse, State Route 5, Charles City, Charles City, VA, 1933

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

5 historic places in Charles City

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

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
14
each building in a district counts
first listed
1969
Charles City County Courthouse
Charles City County CourthouseGreenwayNance-Major House and StoreBelle Air, built 1700Parrish Hill Rosenwald School
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
Mid-19th Century Vernacular1
Vernacular1
Charles City County CourthouseBuilding
GreenwayBuilding
Nance-Major House and StoreGreek Revival
All 5 listings
Belle AirBuilding · listed 1974Parrish Hill Rosenwald SchoolBuilding · listed 2025

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Charles City

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

See all →
Freeman WalkerAmerican politician · b. 1780
William Byrd IIIAmerican politician · b. 1728
C
Charles HarrisonGeneral during the American Revolutionary War · b. 1740
J
James BradbyFirst African-American sheriff in the state of … · b. 1929
Places that used to be

Old corners

Charles City’s post office has been open since 1801.

Hamlets and corners on the map
GreenwayNew Hope

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

Help out

Finish Charles City’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewCharles City County Courthouse, State R…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Charles City’s history

What year was Charles City founded?

The Charles City post office opened in 1801, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Charles City?

5 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Charles City County Courthouse (listed 1969, the first). 14 historic buildings in all.

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 (18), the National Register of Historic Places (5), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.