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BHistory
History · Falmouth

7 of Falmouth’s places are on the National Register

More historic than 62% of U.S. towns · #68 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it

Most of Falmouth was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1926 on, and the census since 1950.

7on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Falmouth’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

About Falmouth’s history

How historic is Falmouth?

B

More historic than 62% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Falmouth’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Falmouth is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns, #68 of 253 in Virginia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Falmouth’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19406.1% of homes (±5.8) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register7 listings, 49 historic buildings, 93.9 per 10,000 residents · typical VA town 3.6 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 62%
NewerOlder
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 73%

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 Falmouth’s 93.9 sits above most of its state (73% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 49 historic buildings outnumber those of 85% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.8 points).

Founding year: our sources. 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 Falmouth’s past

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

Lost villages18 hamlets and corners are still on the map.A National Historic Landmark7 places on the National Register, including Belmont, a National Historic Landmark.A historic districtThe Falmouth Historic District takes in 38 historic buildings.A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Basil GordonBelmontBelmont HillsClearviewClearview HeightsFall Run ParkFalmouth HeightsGraningerHigh School HeightsInglesideJefferson PlaceLight Oak GlenLynwoodMount Pleasant EstatesNorth Clearview HeightsSpring ValleySunnyside DivisionWaltlou Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Embrey Damdam
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Falmouth
KurzSaint Clair Brooks Memorial ParkUnion

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

On the National Register

7 listings protect 49 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
7
National Historic Landmark
1
Belmont
historic buildings protected
49
each building in a district counts
first listed
1966
Belmont
Falmouth Historic DistrictCarltonClearviewConway HouseUnion Church and CemeteryHunter's IronworksBelmont★
BuildingsDistrictsSites★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Early Republic2
Federal2
Georgian1
★ Landmark
BelmontDistrict
Falmouth Historic DistrictDistrict
CarltonGeorgian
ClearviewBuilding
Conway HouseEarly Republic
Union Church and CemeteryEarly Republic
All 7 listings
Hunter's IronworksSite · listed 1974

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

The story

How Falmouth came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Falmouth.

Read it all →

Founded in 1728 by the same act of the Virginia General Assembly that established neighboring Fredericksburg, Falmouth was created as a port town on the Rappahannock to serve inhabitants living north of the river within the vast Northern Neck holdings of Lord Fairfax. His agent, Robert "King" Carter, promoted the establishment of the town, and the Carter family played a dominant role in the town's development throughout much of the colonial period.

Hunter's Ironworks, also known as Rappahannock Forge, was an iron furnace located near Falmouth. Thomas Jefferson made special provision to protect the ironworks during the American Revolution.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Falmouth, 1815 to 1997

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1815Born hereJames Seddon is born here
  3. 1857Born hereKate Waller Barrett is born here
  4. 1860In the archiveStreet in Falmouth, Va
  5. 20th century
  6. 1926On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1965LandmarkBelmont named a National Historic Landmark
  8. 1997Born hereBrian Henderson is born here
By decade

Falmouth, decade by decade

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

1860s12 items
Street in Falmouth, Va1860Street in Falmouth, VaWhite Oak Church (Virginia)c. 1861White Oak Church (Virginia)Horse on the road to1862Horse on the road toLacey House, Falmouth, Virginia - negative by T.H. O'Sullivan ; positive by A. Gardner1862Lacey House, Falmouth, Virginia - negative by T.H. O'…Lacey House1862Lacey HouseLacy's house1862Lacy's houseAbandoned camp of 9th Army Corps near Falmouth, Va., February, 18631863Abandoned camp of 9th Army Corps near Falmouth, Va., …Abandoned camp of 9th Army Corps near Falmouth, Va., February, 18631863Abandoned camp of 9th Army Corps near Falmouth, Va., …Col. Sharpe's horses, Falmouth, Va., April, 18631863Col. Sharpe's horses, Falmouth, Va., April, 1863AlfredPleasonton1864AlfredPleasontonFredericksburg. (Dec. 1862)1867Fredericksburg. (Dec. 1862)Fredericksburg. (Dec. 1862)1867Fredericksburg. (Dec. 1862)
On the map

Falmouth on the map, 1926 to 1994

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

Falmouth on the 1926 USGS mapFalmouth on the 1931 USGS mapFalmouth on the 1943 USGS mapFalmouth on the 1966 USGS mapFalmouth on the 1971 USGS mapFalmouth on the 1984 USGS mapFalmouth on the 1994 USGS map1926Stafford 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 Falmouth.

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.

Street in Falmouth, Va
Retake this viewStreet in Falmouth, Va, 1860

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Falmouth, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,50019601980200020204,956

Grew from 1,176 people in 1950 to 4,956 in 2020, 4 times over.

8 censuses, 1950–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Falmouth

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

See all →
J
James SeddonAmerican lawyer and politician · b. 1815
Kate Waller BarrettAmerican physician · b. 1857
Brian HendersonAmerican auto racing driver · b. 1997
Help out

Finish Falmouth’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewStreet in Falmouth, Va: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Fredericksburg30 historic placesAChatham HeightsIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGrafton VillageIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLeeland StationIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Falmouth’s history

How does Falmouth rank for history?

Falmouth is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns, #68 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 Falmouth?

7 listings: 3 buildings, 2 historic districts, the Belmont and the Falmouth Historic District, with 43 contributing buildings, and 2 sites. 49 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Falmouth?

6% of Falmouth’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.8 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1980.

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 (10), the Library of Congress (2), the National Register of Historic Places (7), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.