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C+History
History · Exmore

Exmore’s post office opened in 1884, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 45% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Exmore was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Its Register listings are the John W. Chandler House and the Benjamin's Department Store. Below: maps from 1943 on and the census since 1950.

1884first post office
2on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Exmore began

When was Exmore founded?

1884

The Exmore post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Hadlock (1857), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 1,362 in 19502020 census: 1,473142 years

How historic is Exmore?

C+

More historic than 45% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Exmore post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Exmore’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Exmore is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Exmore’s overall grade.
Founding era1884, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19407.3% of homes (±5.0) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register2 listings, 4 historic buildings, 25.5 per 10,000 residents · typical VA town 3.6 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 45%
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 Exmore’s 25.5 sits near the middle of its state (60% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% 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 (±5.0 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 Exmore’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 Exmore are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Exmore’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Exmore’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
The story

How Exmore came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Exmore.

Read it all →

Benjamin's Department Store and the John W. Chandler House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Virginia Barrier Island Center (BIC) offers exhaustive information on the local culture and history. Founded in 1996 and opened to visitors in 2002 on the former site of the Almshouse Farm in Machipongo 10 miles south of the town of Exmore and 20 miles north of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, the BIC is a cultural center, a museum and a meeting and event place. Its mission is to preserve and perpetuate the culture and history of Virginia's barrier islands through education and the collection and interpretation of artifacts. The museum holds more than 7,500 artefacts and showcases a permanent exhibition.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Exmore, 1857 to 1951

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1857Post officeThe Hadlock post office opens
  3. 1884Post officeThe Exmore post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1943On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1951Post officeThe Hadlock post office closes
By decade

Exmore, decade by decade

Today14 recent
Wild Roots salon and the Rancho Relaxo2018Wild Roots salon and the Rancho RelaxoUS 13 by sunset2018US 13 by sunsetExmore, the Treasure of Virginia's Eastern Shore2018Exmore, the Treasure of Virginia's Eastern ShoreEpworth United Methodist Church between Exmore and Willis Wharf2018Epworth United Methodist Church between Exmore and Wi…Commercial area, central2018Commercial area, central2017-07-12 10 09 42 View west along Virginia State Route 183 (Occohannock Neck Road) at U.S. Route 13 Business (Main St…20172017-07-12 10 09 42 View west along Virginia State Ro…Exmore, Virginia2016Exmore, VirginiaExmore town hall2016Exmore town hallBarrier Islands LandSat2014Barrier Islands LandSatUS Route 13 092505 9732007US Route 13 092505 973US Route 13 092505 9512007US Route 13 092505 951US Route 13 092505 9502007US Route 13 092505 950Belle Haven depot2007Belle Haven depotUS Route 13 092505 8972005US Route 13 092505 897
On the map

Exmore on the map, 1943 to 1992

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

Exmore on the 1943 USGS mapExmore on the 1968 USGS mapExmore on the 1977 USGS mapExmore on the 1992 USGS map1943Exmore 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 Exmore.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Exmore

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
2004
John W. Chandler House
John W. Chandler HouseBenjamin's Department Store
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Queen Anne1
Italianate1
John W. Chandler HouseQueen Anne
Benjamin's Department StoreItalianate

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

People over time

Exmore, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001960198020002020Peak: 1,566

Between 1,115 and 1,566 people in every census since 1950.

8 censuses, 1950–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Exmore

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

See all →
Ralph NorthamGovernor of Virginia from 2018 to 2022 · b. 1959
Henry A. WiseUnited States Congressman and governor of Virgi… · b. 1806
Charles I. StengleAmerican politician · b. 1869
Tyler WebbAmerican baseball player · b. 1990
Adrian CustisAmerican basketball player · b. 1974
Thomas H. B. BrowneAmerican politician · b. 1844
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Exmore’s post office has been open since 1884. Another post office, Hadlock, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hadlock
1857–1951
Exmore
1884–today
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bacon HillHadlock
1cemetery inside Exmore
Epworth United Methodist Church

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.

Belle HavenIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWillis WharfIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Exmore’s history

What year was Exmore founded?

The Exmore post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Exmore rank for history?

Exmore is more historic than 45% 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 Exmore?

Two places: the John W. Chandler House (listed 2004) and the Benjamin's Department Store (2006).

How old are the homes in Exmore?

7% of Exmore’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.0 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1978.

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 (14), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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.