Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1798.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Courtland’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Courtland is more historic than 90% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Courtland’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 Courtland’s 1,723 sits above most of its state (99% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 272 historic buildings outnumber those of 95% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1791.
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 (±10.2 points).
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 Courtland’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Native Americans of the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway), and Meherrin tribes were the first inhabitants of the land that is now Courtland. Virginia's leaders prohibited Europeans from settling the area that is Courtland during the first 100 years of the colony. The Articles of Peace signed between the colony and the natives in 1677 set aside 41,000 acres (17,000 ha) for use by the Nottoway. As a result, the Nottoway established several settlements along the banks of the Nottoway River near what is now Courtland in the late 17th century. As late as 1821, the Nottoways maintained their traditional social order with a female leader.
Grew from 288 people in 1900 to 1,679 in 2020, 5 times over.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Courtland’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices
Courtland’s post office has been open since 1888. Another post office, Jerusalem, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Jerusalem
1798–1888
Courtland
1888–today
17901910today
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Courtland’s history
What year was Courtland founded?
In 1791, according to Wikidata. Courtland’s post office opened in 1798, and the census of 1900 counted 288 people here.
How does Courtland rank for history?
Courtland is more historic than 90% 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 Courtland?
5 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Rebecca Vaughan House (listed 2006, the first), and 1 historic district, the Courtland Historic District, with 268 contributing buildings. 272 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Courtland?
16% of Courtland’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.2 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 Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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) 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.
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