8 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Pittsylvania County Courthouse, a National Historic Landmark, and two historic districts with 197 buildings between them. Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1896 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1794.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Chatham’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Chatham is more historic than 87% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Chatham’s overall grade.
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 Chatham’s 1,409 sits above most of its state (98% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 204 historic buildings outnumber those of 93% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.5 points). Two sources give 1874.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). 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 Chatham’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
It is the home to the oldest continually used building in Pittsylvania County, once an 18th-century tavern, since turned into a house and now occupied by Chatham Hall faculty.
Chatham is the county seat for Pittsylvania County and has held that status since 1777. There is a large U.S. Department of Agriculture office to support farmers in the area and a small branch office of the U.S. Forest Service. Virginia has built a new state prison at the site of an old work-release camp; this led to infrastructure upgrades in fire and water services to support the increased population.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Chatham. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1923Chatham 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 Chatham.
Every building
Chatham, building by building, 1896–1920
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1896Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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.
Retake this viewSims Mitchell House Whittle Street, 1906
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Chatham’s page.
In 1874, according to Wikidata. Chatham’s post office opened in 1794, and the census of 1880 counted 543 people here.
How does Chatham rank for history?
Chatham is more historic than 87% of U.S. towns. 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.
What is on the National Register in Chatham?
8 listings: 6 buildings, among them the Pittsylvania County Courthouse (a National Historic Landmark since 1987), and 2 historic districts, the Chatham Historic District and the Hargrave Military Academy, with 197 contributing buildings. 204 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Chatham?
37% of Chatham’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.5 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1955.
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 (12), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (8), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
★ Landmark
c. 1909
1911
c. 1912
1912
1918
1927
1927
1927
2013
2013
2013
2013
