Christiansburg dates to 1671, and 13 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 78% of U.S. towns · #43 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it
Most of Christiansburg was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. 13 places in town are on the National Register, among them four historic districts with 136 buildings between them. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1850.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1828.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Christiansburg’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Christiansburg is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #43 of 253 in Virginia. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Christiansburg’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 Christiansburg’s 67.3 sits above most of its state (68% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 153 historic buildings outnumber those of 92% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1671.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A+. The pre-1940 share (±1.3 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Christiansburg’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Christiansburg Industrial SchoolschoolChristiansburg Primary School Number 1schoolChristiansburg Primary School Number 2schoolOld Hill SchoolschoolPentecostal Holiness ChurchchurchPilgrim TabernaclechurchWheeler Baker Schoolschool
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Christiansburg
In 1671, Abraham Wood commissioned the first English expedition to cross the Eastern Continental Divide. The members of that expedition included Thomas Wood, Thomas Batts (Batte) and Robert Fallamto. The expedition is now known as the Batts and Fallam Expedition. The exploration party reached what is now the New River Valley and the New River. The site of discovery of the northerly-running river is believed to be where the Little River enters the New River just north of what is now the Claytor Lake Dam. This is about 10 miles from the center of Christiansburg.
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.
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 Christiansburg. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1932Blacksburg 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 Christiansburg.
Every building
Christiansburg, building by building, 1885–1921
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.
1885Sheet 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 view"New Livery" "Newly Equipped. Fine Horses. New Buggies and hacks."ad detail, Virginia Tech Bugle 1897 (page 196 crop), 1897
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Christiansburg’s page.
In 1671, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Christiansburg’s post office opened in 1828, and the census of 1850 counted 532 people here.
How does Christiansburg rank for history?
Christiansburg is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #43 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.
What is on the National Register in Christiansburg?
13 listings: 9 buildings, among them the Christiansburg Presbyterian Church (listed 1978, the first), and 4 historic districts with 136 contributing buildings. 153 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Christiansburg?
4% of Christiansburg’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.3 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1987.
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 (10), the Library of Congress (3), the National Register of Historic Places (13), Wikipedia, 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.
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