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B+History
History · Crewe

Crewe’s post office opened in 1888, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 75% of U.S. towns. What drives it

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 64 buildings. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1890.

1888first post office
2on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Crewe’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Crewe began, and where its name came from

When was Crewe founded?

1888

The Crewe post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 887 in 18902020 census: 2,262138 years

How did Crewe get its name?

Crewe was named after the railway town of Crewe in Cheshire, England.

How historic is Crewe?

B+

More historic than 75% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Crewe post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Crewe’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Crewe is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Crewe’s overall grade.
Founding era1888, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194022.1% of homes (±7.7) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register2 listings, 67 historic buildings, 231 per 10,000 residents · typical VA town 3.6 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 75%
NewerOlder

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 Crewe’s 231 sits above most of its state (79% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 67 historic buildings outnumber those of 87% 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 (±7.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Crewe’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Crewe Commercial Historic District takes in 64 historic buildings.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1894 to 1925, drew every building in Crewe.Old housesHalf of Crewe’s homes were built before 1960.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Crewe’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewCrewe Graded School: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

2 listings protect 67 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
67
each building in a district counts
first listed
2022
WSVS Radio Station
WSVS Radio StationCrewe Commercial Historic District
BuildingsDistricts
All 2 listings
WSVS Radio StationBuilding · listed 2022Crewe Commercial Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2023

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Every building

Crewe, building by building, 1894–1925

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.

Crewe fire insurance map, 1894, sheet 11894Sheet 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.

The story

How Crewe came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Crewe.

Read it all →

Crewe was founded in 1888 as a central location to house steam locomotive repair shops for the Norfolk & Western Railroad (now called Norfolk Southern) which has a rail yard there for east–west trains carrying Appalachian coal to Hampton Roads for export abroad, and the street pattern was laid out at that time. It was named after the railway town of Crewe in Cheshire, England.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Crewe, 1888 to 1975

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888Post officeThe Crewe post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1904Born hereA. Scott Anderson is born here
  5. 1905In the archiveCrewe Graded School
  6. 1906Born hereRobert Buckner is born here
  7. 1922Born hereErnie Williamson is born here
  8. 1943Born hereBill Whitby is born here
  9. 1958On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1975In the archiveAmtrak Mountaineer near Crewe, Virginia, November 1975
By decade

Crewe, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s2 items
Crewe Graded School1905Crewe Graded SchoolView of a street1905View of a street
1910s–1960snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
1970s1 item
Amtrak Mountaineer near Crewe, Virginia, November 19751975Amtrak Mountaineer near Crewe, Virginia, November 1975
1980s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today15 recent
Crewe, VA 23930, USA - panoramio (15)2010Crewe, VA 23930, USA - panoramio (15)Crewe, VA 23930, USA - panoramio (14)2010Crewe, VA 23930, USA - panoramio (14)Crewe, VA 23930, USA - panoramio (12)2010Crewe, VA 23930, USA - panoramio (12)Crewe, VA 23930, USA - panoramio (11)2010Crewe, VA 23930, USA - panoramio (11)Crewe, VA 23930, USA - panoramio (10)2010Crewe, VA 23930, USA - panoramio (10)Crewe, VA 23930, USA - panoramio (1)2010Crewe, VA 23930, USA - panoramio (1)Crewe Volunteer Fire Department2010Crewe Volunteer Fire DepartmentCrewe Municipal Building2010Crewe Municipal BuildingCarter Street2010Carter StreetCarolina Avenue2010Carolina AvenueCarolina Ave2010Carolina AveBravo Italian Grill2010Bravo Italian GrillBeamer Field and Hackney Field2010Beamer Field and Hackney Field2010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map for20102010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map forBookVAMap-doton-Crewe2005VAMap-doton-Crewe
On the map

Crewe on the map, 1958 to 1974

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

Crewe on the 1958 USGS mapCrewe on the 1968 USGS mapCrewe on the 1974 USGS map1958Crewe 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 Crewe.

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.

Crewe Graded School
Retake this viewCrewe Graded School, 1905

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Crewe’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Crewe, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,378

Between 887 and 2,378 people in every census since 1890.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Crewe’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Crewe

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
R
Robert BucknerAmerican filmmaker · b. 1906
E
Ernie WilliamsonAmerican football player · b. 1922
B
Bill WhitbyAmerican baseball player · b. 1943
A
A. Scott AndersonAmerican politician · b. 1904
William T. WilsonAmerican politician in Virginia · b. 1937

Questions about Crewe’s history

What year was Crewe founded?

The Crewe post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Crewe rank for history?

Crewe is more historic than 75% 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 Crewe?

Two places: the WSVS Radio Station (listed 2022) and the Crewe Commercial Historic District (2023).

How old are the homes in Crewe?

22% of Crewe’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.7 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1960.

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 (16), the Library of Congress (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.