Elkton’s post office opened in 1881, and 4 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 60% of U.S. towns · #71 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it
Most of Elkton was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. 4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 209 buildings. Below: maps from 1913 on and the census since 1910.
The Elkton post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Conrad's Store (1816), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 873 in 19102020 census: 2,941145 years
How historic is Elkton?
B
More historic than 60% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Elkton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Elkton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Elkton is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #71 of 253 in Virginia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Elkton’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 Elkton’s 712 sits above most of its state (93% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 214 historic buildings outnumber those of 94% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.1 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 Elkton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
One of the first European-Americans to settle permanently in the area was Adam Miller (Mueller), a native of Germany. In 1741, Miller purchased 820 acres (3.3 km2), including a large lithia spring, near Elkton and lived on this property for the remainder of his life. He sold 280 acres (1.1 km2) of this property to his son-in-law, Jacob Baer, and the spring on Miller’s land is still known as Bear Lithia Spring.
Conrads Store was a general store built by George Conrad about 1812.
1876 a bill was passed the Virginia legislature incorporating the Harrisonburg & Orange C. H. Ry. Co. In 1890 a railroad was proposed through Shendun Pass (Brown's Gap) ; a plan was being considered by business men of Elkton and Harrisonburg for connecting those towns with a railroad; a street railway for Harrisonburg was being considered; and the Harrisonburg & Western Ry. Co. was organized at Harrisonburg, Messrs. J. P. Houck, C. A. Sprinkel, T. A. Long,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The river bridges at Conrad's Store and Elkton, like those at Port, have had an interesting, though expensive, history. On June 3, 1862, the Conrad's Store bridge was burned by Co. D, 7th Va. Cavalry, S. B. Coyner, captain, to keep the Federal general Shields from coming across to join Fremont against Jackson. In June, 1868, proposals were solicited by J. H. Kite, president of board, for building the island bridges across the Shenandoah, near Conrad's Store. The bridges
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Elkton, 1816 to 1965
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Elkton. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1937Elkton 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 Elkton.
Every building
Elkton, building by building, 1913–1924
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.
Elkton’s post office has been open since 1881. Another post office, Conrad's Store, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Conrad's Store
1816–1872
Elkton
1881–today
18101920today
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Elkton’s history
What year was Elkton founded?
The Elkton post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Elkton rank for history?
Elkton is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #71 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 Elkton?
4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Miller-Kite House (listed 1979, the first), and 1 historic district, the Elkton Historic District, with 209 contributing buildings. 214 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Elkton?
7% of Elkton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1978.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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