Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Countryside

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
D−History
History · Countryside

Half of Countryside’s homes were built after 1986

More historic than 4% of U.S. towns · #215 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it

Most of Countryside was built recently: 0.5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: maps from 1908 on.

0on the National Register
0.5%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Brookeln · Public domain
Quick answers

About Countryside’s history

How historic is Countryside?

D−

More historic than 4% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Countryside’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Countryside is more historic than 4% of U.S. towns, #215 of 253 in Virginia. 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 Countryside’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19400.5% of homes (±0.6) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%DNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical VA town 3.6 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 4%
NewerOlder
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 15%

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 Countryside’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.

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 (±0.6 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 Countryside’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Countryside are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19087 editions of the USGS map, 1908 to 1994. Watch Countryside change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Countryside’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Countryside’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Countryside on the map, 1908 to 1994

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

Countryside on the 1908 USGS mapCountryside on the 1944 USGS mapCountryside on the 1952 USGS mapCountryside on the 1968 USGS mapCountryside on the 1972 USGS mapCountryside on the 1980 USGS mapCountryside on the 1994 USGS map1908Seneca 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 Countryside.

The story

How Countryside came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Countryside.

Read it all →

The Countryside subdivision was conceived in the middle 1970s when a tract of 1,000 acres (400 ha) of open farmland was subdivided in preparation for a planned housing development. Construction on homes began in 1981 and continued through 1991.

The Countryside CDP covers about 2.6 square miles (6.7 km2) and homes in Countryside have a 20165 (Potomac Falls or Sterling) ZIP code.

The majority of the homes in Countryside were built by Pulte Homes and are of the colonial architectural style. Most of the single-family homes have two stories and a basement. CountrySide Proprietary is the community's homeowners association.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Countryside, decade by decade

Today5 recent
2019-09-20 17 02 54 View east along Virginia State Route 7 (Harry Byrd Highway) at the exit for Virginia State Route 15…20192019-09-20 17 02 54 View east along Virginia State Ro…2019-09-20 17 00 56 View east along Virginia State Route 7 (Harry Byrd Highway) at the exit for Virginia State Route 15…20192019-09-20 17 00 56 View east along Virginia State Ro…2019-09-20 09 58 06 View west along Virginia State Route 7 (Harry Byrd Highway) at the exit for Virginia State Route 28…20192019-09-20 09 58 06 View west along Virginia State Ro…2019-09-20 09 56 32 View west along Virginia State Route 7 (Harry Byrd Highway) at the exit for Virginia State Route 15…20192019-09-20 09 56 32 View west along Virginia State Ro…Countryside VA house2008Countryside VA house
Famous people

Famous people close to Countryside

Nobody well known was born in Countryside itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Hilarie BurtonAmerican actress · b. 1982
Sean ParkerAmerican entrepreneur, programmer and philanthr… · b. 1979
Emily FoxAmerican soccer player · b. 1998
Ashley CaldwellAmerican freestyle skier · b. 1993
Hugh Henry BreckenridgeAmerican painter · b. 1870
P
Paula CaleAmerican actress · b. 1970
Places that used to be

Old corners and places now gone

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Dulles Town CenterPotomac Falls
Gone or out of use
June Fieldairport

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

CascadesIts storyD−

Questions about Countryside’s history

How does Countryside rank for history?

Countryside is more historic than 4% of U.S. towns, #215 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.

How old are the homes in Countryside?

0.5% of Countryside’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1986.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (5), 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.