On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Chatmoss is among the newest of U.S. towns. 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 Chatmoss’ 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 Chatmoss’ 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 (±1.5 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 Chatmoss’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Chatmoss takes its name from a 2,700-acre (11 km2) Hairston family plantation on the site, which was later incorporated into a larger country club building on the site. That name probably derives from "Chat Moss", a large area of peat bog near Manchester, UK. In turn, that bog may be named after St Chad, or even from the Celtic word ced, meaning wood. Alternatively it may be an Old English personal name and mos, meaning "swamp." Low-lying areas around Chatmoss were boggy wetlands prone to flooding from Leatherwood Creek before mitigation by several dams.
Chatmoss is among the newest 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.
How old are the homes in Chatmoss?
0.0% of Chatmoss’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.5 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1979.
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 Wikipedia, 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.
