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B+History
History · Dumfries

Dumfries dates to 1749, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 66% of U.S. towns · #63 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it

Most of Dumfries was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Its Register listings are the Old Hotel and the Weems-Botts House. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1927 on, and the census since 1860.

1749founded
2on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
10old photos & papers
11famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Dumfries’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Dumfries began

When was Dumfries founded?

1749

Dumfries dates its founding to 1749 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1860.

First census: 171 in 18602020 census: 5,679277 years

How historic is Dumfries?

B+

More historic than 66% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1775.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Dumfries’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dumfries is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #63 of 253 in Virginia. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Dumfries’ overall grade.
Founding era1749, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 19404.5% of homes (±4.7) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register2 listings, 3.4 per 10,000 residents · typical VA town 3.6 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 66%
NewerOlder
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 75%

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 Dumfries’ 3.4 sits near the middle of its state (45% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1749.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.7 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 Dumfries’ past

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

Older than the countryEstablished in 1749, 27 years before the Declaration of Independence.Mystery photos8 old photos have no date. Neighbors can guess the decade.Famous sons and daughtersHenry Lee III, Kendall Marshall and 9 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Timeline

Dumfries, 1749 to 1991

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1749
    FoundingDumfries is established
  3. 1756Born hereHenry Lee III is born here
  4. 1774Born hereJohn Graham is born here
  5. 1775Post officeThe Dumfries post office opens
  6. 19th century
  7. 1802Born hereJohn Botts is born here
  8. 1861In the archiveSoldiers of the First Texas Infantry, Confederate States Army
  9. 20th century
  10. 1927On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1991Born hereKendall Marshall is born here
Help out

Start Dumfries’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo8 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewSoldiers of the First Texas Infantry, C…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Famous people

11 famous people were born in Dumfries

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

See all →
Henry Lee IIIAmerican politician, governor, and representati… · b. 1756
Kendall MarshallAmerican basketball player · b. 1991
John BottsAmerican politician · b. 1802
J
John GrahamDiplomat, born 1774 · b. 1774
D
David StokesAmerican soccer player · b. 1982
Chris CooperAmerican basketball player · b. 1990
The story

How Dumfries came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Dumfries.

Read it all →

The history of Dumfries began as early as 1690 when Richard Gibson erected a gristmill on Quantico Creek. A customhouse and warehouse followed in 1731, and many others cropped up along the estuary by 1732. The Town of Dumfries was formally established on 60 acres (240,000 m2) of land at the head of the harbor of Quantico Creek, provided by John Graham. He named the town after his birthplace, Dumfries, Scotland.

After much political maneuvering, the General Assembly established Dumfries as the first of seven townships in the county. Dumfries received its charter on May 11, 1749, making it the oldest continuously chartered town in Virginia.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Dumfries, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1860s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s2 items
Soldiers of the First Texas Infantry, Confederate States Army1861Soldiers of the First Texas Infantry, Confederate Sta…Dumfries, Va., June 18631863Dumfries, Va., June 1863
Date unknown8 to date
Leesylvania (Ruins), State Route 610, Dumfries vicinity (Prince William County, Virginia)Date?Leesylvania (Ruins), State Route 610, Dumfries vicini…Williams' Ordinary, Main StreetDate?Williams' Ordinary, Main StreetMerchent House, Main StreetDate?Merchent House, Main StreetMain Street (Frame House)Date?Main Street (Frame House)Leesylvania (Ruins), State Route 610Date?Leesylvania (Ruins), State Route 610Tebbs-Mundy House, Main StreetDate?Tebbs-Mundy House, Main StreetNorth Branch Quantico Creek Bridge, NPS Route 406 spanning north branch of Quantico CreekDate?North Branch Quantico Creek Bridge, NPS Route 406 spa…South Branch Quantico Creek Bridge, NPS Route 11 spanning south branch of Quantico CreekDate?South Branch Quantico Creek Bridge, NPS Route 11 span…
Today6 recent
2019-06-24 13 15 01 View south along Interstate 95 from the overpass for Virginia State Route 234 (Dumfries Road) just …20192019-06-24 13 15 01 View south along Interstate 95 fr…A suspension footbridge in Prince William Forest Park2012A suspension footbridge in Prince William Forest ParkQuantico Church (Dumfries, Virginia) 0012011Quantico Church (Dumfries, Virginia) 001Prince William County Court House memorial 0012011Prince William County Court House memorial 001Front of school 12009Front of school 1VAMap-doton-Dumfries2005VAMap-doton-Dumfries
On the map

Dumfries on the map, 1927 to 1994

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

Dumfries on the 1927 USGS mapDumfries on the 1944 USGS mapDumfries on the 1952 USGS mapDumfries on the 1966 USGS mapDumfries on the 1971 USGS mapDumfries on the 1983 USGS mapDumfries on the 1994 USGS map1927Quantico 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 Dumfries.

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.

Soldiers of the First Texas Infantry, Confederate States Army
Retake this viewSoldiers of the First Texas Infantry, Confederate States Army, 1861

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Dumfries

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1969
Old Hotel
Old HotelWeems-Botts House
Buildings
Old HotelBuilding
Weems-Botts HouseBuilding

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

People over time

Dumfries, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0001900195020005,679

Grew from 171 people in 1860 to 5,679 in 2020, more than tenfold.

15 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Dumfries’s post office has been open since 1775.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Grayson Village Mobile Home ParkRose HillTripoli Heights
1cemetery inside Dumfries
Dumfries Public

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). 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.

Cherry HillIts storyD−TriangleIts storyD

Questions about Dumfries’ history

What year was Dumfries founded?

In 1749, according to Wikidata. Dumfries’ post office opened in 1775, and the census of 1860 counted 171 people here.

How does Dumfries rank for history?

Dumfries is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #63 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 Dumfries?

Two places: the Old Hotel (listed 1969) and the Weems-Botts House (1975).

How old are the homes in Dumfries?

5% of Dumfries’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.7 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1983.

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 (8), the Library of Congress (8), Wikidata (1), 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) 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.