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History · Draper

Draper’s post office opened in 1900, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Draper was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1989. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 42 buildings. Below: maps from 1965 on.

1900first post office
1on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Draper began

When was Draper founded?

1900

The Draper post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Drapers Valley (1831) and Lucretia (1888), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 291126 years
Founding year: the first Draper post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Draper’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 Draper are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Draper Historic District takes in 42 historic buildings.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Draper.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Draper’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Draper’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 National Register

1 listing protects 42 historic buildings

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
42
each building in a district counts
first listed
2020
Draper Historic District
Draper Historic District
Districts
Draper Historic DistrictDistrict

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Draper’s post office has been open since 1900. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Drapers Valley
1831–1897
Lucretia
1888–1900
Draper
1900–today
18301930today
Gone or out of use
Draper Elementary Schoolschool

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story so far

Draper, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Draper yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Draper is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pulaski County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 census, Draper had a population of 291. Draper has both a fire station and post office. Draper developed around the Draper Depot of the Norfolk and Western Railway's Cripple Creek Extension in 1886. The bed of this extension now forms the New River Trail State Park. Draper is home to the Draper Historic District, which includes 40 acres with a variety of contributing historic buildings, including the Draper Mercantile (1887), Bank of Draper (1911), and several houses in the Gothic Revival and Queen Anne styles. The Draper Mercantile was purchased in 2008 and renovated into a restaurant, café…

Its first post office opened in 1900. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 320 to 291 (-9%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Draper, 1831 to 1965

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1831Post officeThe Drapers Valley post office opens
  3. 1888Post officeThe Lucretia post office opens
  4. 1897Post officeThe Drapers Valley post office closes
  5. 20th century
  6. 1900Post officeThe Lucretia post office closes
  7. 1900Post officeThe Draper post office opens
  8. 1965On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Draper, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Draper Historic District2025Draper Historic DistrictDraper Mercantile2020Draper Mercantile
On the map

Draper on the map, 1965 to 1972

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

Draper on the 1965 USGS mapDraper on the 1972 USGS map1965Dublin sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Draper.

Famous people

Famous people close to Draper

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

See all →
Edith Bolling Galt WilsonFirst Lady of the United States from 1915 to 19… · b. 1872
Henry KingAmerican film director · b. 1886
John B. FloydAmerican politician · b. 1806
L
Louis KingAmerican actor and movie director · b. 1898
Sally Miller GearhartAmerican teacher, feminist, science fiction wri… · b. 1931
Elbert Lee TrinkleAmerican politician · b. 1876

Questions about Draper’s history

What year was Draper founded?

The Draper post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Draper?

One place: the Draper Historic District (listed 2020).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (2), the National Register of Historic Places (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.