Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Eastville

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
–Not graded
History · Eastville

Eastville dates to 1773, and 34% of its homes were built before 1940

7 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 323 buildings between them. Below: 6 old photos and papers from 1930 on.

1773founded
7on the National Register
34%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Eastville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Eastville began

When was Eastville founded?

1773

Eastville dates its founding to 1773 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1819.

2020 census: 300253 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1819.The full story ↓

What stands out about Eastville’s past

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

A historic districtThe Eastville Historic District takes in 315 historic buildings.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Eastville, and 3 old place names are still on the map.Landmarks on the Register7 places on the National Register.Older than the countryEstablished in 1773, 3 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

7 listings protect 331 historic buildings

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

places listed
7
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
331
each building in a district counts
first listed
1972
Northampton County Courthouse Historic District
Northampton County Courthouse Historic DistrictBrown's, James, Dry Goods StoreCessfordEastville MercantileSelmaEastville Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Federal3
Colonial Revival2
Romanesque Revival1
Eastlake1
Vernacular1
Dutch Style Roof1
Northampton County Courthouse Historic DistrictRomanesque Revival
Kendall GroveFederal
Brown's, James, Dry Goods StoreEastlake
CessfordFederal
Eastville MercantileVernacular
SelmaDutch Style Roof
Eastville Historic DistrictColonial

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 old corners

Eastville’s post office has been open since 1819. Another post office, Eastville Station, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Eastville
1819–today
Eastville Station
1892–1969
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Eastville StationJames CrossroadsNottingham

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

The story

How Eastville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Eastville.

Read it all →

The present town of Eastville is situated near the sites of the first European settlements established on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. In 1620, Thomas Savage, having been trained as an interpreter and working with the Virginia Company to secure land on the shore from the indigenous cultures there, settled on land that in time came to be known as “Savage Neck,” a few miles southwest of Eastville. By the last quarter of the 17th century, Henry Matthews had settled on the tract of land covering the present town. In 1677, Northampton County residents petitioned for the county court to be moved to a more central location, suggesting Matthews' home. The first courthouse was completed in 1690 and a small community developed to serve the needs of the court called “The Horns,” named for the several peninsulas of land which extended west into the Chesapeake Bay from the area. Not until almost a…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Eastville, 1773 to 1974

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1773
    FoundingEastville is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1819Post officeThe Eastville post office opens
  5. 1845Born herePeter J. Carter is born here
  6. 1849Born hereJohn S. Trower is born here
  7. 1892Post officeThe Eastville Station post office opens
  8. 20th century
  9. 1930In the archiveEastville Court House & Clerk's Office
  10. 1969Post officeThe Eastville Station post office closes
  11. 1974Born hereAdrian Custis is born here
By decade

Eastville, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s6 items
Eastville Court House & Clerk's Office1930Eastville Court House & Clerk's OfficeDebtor's Prison1930Debtor's PrisonEastville Court House & Clerk's Office1930Eastville Court House & Clerk's OfficeEastville Court House & Clerk's Office1930Eastville Court House & Clerk's OfficeCessford1930CessfordIngleside1930Ingleside
1940s–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
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.

Eastville Court House & Clerk's Office
Retake this viewEastville Court House & Clerk's Office, 1930

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

3 famous people were born in Eastville

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

See all →
Adrian CustisAmerican basketball player · b. 1974
Peter J. CarterMember of the Virginia House of Delegates · b. 1845
John S. TrowerAmerican businessman · b. 1849
Help out

Finish Eastville’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewEastville Court House & Clerk's Office: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Eastville’s history

What year was Eastville founded?

In 1773, according to Wikidata. Eastville’s post office opened in 1819.

What is on the National Register in Eastville?

7 listings: 5 buildings and 2 historic districts, the Northampton County Courthouse Historic District and the Eastville Historic District, with 323 contributing buildings. 331 historic buildings in all.

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 the Library of Congress (6), the National Register of Historic Places (7), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.