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DHistory
History · Franconia

Half of Franconia’s homes were built after 1988

More historic than 6% of U.S. towns · #206 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it

Most of Franconia was built recently: 0.8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. Below: maps from 1900 on.

0on the National Register
0.8%homes built before 1940
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Photo: The original uploader was Ser Amantio di Nicolao at English Wikipedia. · CC BY 3.0
Quick answers

About Franconia’s history

How historic is Franconia?

D

More historic than 6% 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 Franconia’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Franconia is more historic than 6% of U.S. towns, #206 of 253 in Virginia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Franconia’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19400.8% of homes (±1.0) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%DNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical VA town 3.6 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 6%
NewerOlder
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 19%

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 Franconia’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (17% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% 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 (±1.0 points) is firm at this size.

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 Franconia’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 Franconia are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19007 editions of the USGS map, 1900 to 1994. Watch Franconia change.Lost villages4 hamlets and corners are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Franconia’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Franconia’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
On the map

Franconia on the map, 1900 to 1994

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

Franconia on the 1900 USGS mapFranconia on the 1945 USGS mapFranconia on the 1951 USGS mapFranconia on the 1965 USGS mapFranconia on the 1971 USGS mapFranconia on the 1984 USGS mapFranconia on the 1994 USGS map1900Washington 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 Franconia.

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
KathmoorMaple Grove EstatesMount Hebron ParkWindsor Estates
Gone or out of use
Camp KiwanislocaleLaurel Grove Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Franconia
BeulahLaurel Grove Baptist ChurchSchurtz

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

The story

How Franconia came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Franconia.

Read it all →

Franconia Road once served as a rolling road to bring tobacco hogsheads to the port at Alexandria. The surrounding community derives its name from the "Frankhonia Farm", which sat on a portion of a tract of 191 acres purchased from Joseph Broders of Oak Grove Farm in 1859 by William Fowle, a merchant from Alexandria. Fowle's son, Robert Rollins Fowle, sold 18 acres of the property to the Alexandria & Fredericksburg Railway Company in 1871 for the erection of a railway station, which took its name of the farm. The station was the site of the Garfield Post Office from 1881 until 1890, and again from 1898 until 1907. In 1903, it was relocated after a fire from its original site, near Fleet Drive, to the north side of Franconia Road. The railway station remained in regular service until around 1953. Today, it is memorialized with a historic marker erected by the Fairfax County History Commi…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Franconia, decade by decade

Today24 recent
Paradiso Ristorante Italiano in2018Paradiso Ristorante Italiano inFranconia Government Center2018Franconia Government CenterAftermath of the late March snowstorm on my way to work - 22018Aftermath of the late March snowstorm on my way to wo…Aftermath of the late March snowstorm on my way to work - 12018Aftermath of the late March snowstorm on my way to wo…2018-10-30 12 35 52 View west along Virginia State Route 289 (Franconia-Springfield Parkway) at the exit for Virginia S…20182018-10-30 12 35 52 View west along Virginia State Ro…Nalls Produce on Halloween 20162016Nalls Produce on Halloween 2016Mister Kleen and houses2016Mister Kleen and housesBeulah Road and Nalls on Halloween2016Beulah Road and Nalls on Halloween2016-10-27 09 30 54 View west along Virginia State Route 289 (Franconia-Springfield Parkway) at Beulah Street (Virginia…20162016-10-27 09 30 54 View west along Virginia State Ro…2016-10-27 09 24 32 View east along Virginia State Route 289 (Franconia-Springfield Parkway) between Frontier Drive and…20162016-10-27 09 24 32 View east along Virginia State Ro…2016-07-20 06 09 41 View north along Interstate 95 and east along the outer loop of the Capital Beltway (Interstate 495…20162016-07-20 06 09 41 View north along Interstate 95 an…2016-07-04 15 47 37 View south along Interstate 95 and west along Interstate 495 1-2 mile before Exit 170-169 (Intersta…20162016-07-04 15 47 37 View south along Interstate 95 an…2016-07-04 15 47 19 View south along Interstate 95 and west along Interstate 495 1 mile before Exit 170-169 (Interstate…20162016-07-04 15 47 19 View south along Interstate 95 an…2016-01-22 08 52 08 View north along Interstate 95 and east along the outer loop of the Capital Beltway (Interstate 495…20162016-01-22 08 52 08 View north along Interstate 95 an…16.WMATA.FranconiaSpringfield.VA.4October2011201116.WMATA.FranconiaSpringfield.VA.4October201115a.WMATA.FranconiaSpringfield.VA.4October2011201115a.WMATA.FranconiaSpringfield.VA.4October201114.WMATA.FranconiaSpringfield.VA.4October2011201114.WMATA.FranconiaSpringfield.VA.4October201103.TAGS.Bus.RouteS80.FranconiaVA.4October2011201103.TAGS.Bus.RouteS80.FranconiaVA.4October201102.TAGS.Bus.RouteS80.FranconiaVA.4October2011201102.TAGS.Bus.RouteS80.FranconiaVA.4October201101.TAGS.Bus.RouteS80.FranconiaVA.4October2011201101.TAGS.Bus.RouteS80.FranconiaVA.4October2011Kingstowne, VA, seen from my car2009Kingstowne, VA, seen from my carInterstate 95 - Virginia2009Interstate 95 - VirginiaInterstate 95 - Virginia2009Interstate 95 - VirginiaFranconia, Virginia2009Franconia, Virginia
Famous people

Famous people close to Franconia

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

See all →
Dermot MulroneyAmerican actor · b. 1963
Angus KingAmerican politician and lawyer · b. 1944
Kali UchisAmerican singer-songwriter · b. 1994
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Diedrich BaderAmerican actor · b. 1966
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Stewart CopelandAmerican drummer and composer · b. 1952
Megan YoungFilipino actress · b. 1990
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

KingstowneIts storyDSpringfieldIts storyCLincolnia1 historic placeC−Rose HillIts storyDNewingtonIts storyD

Questions about Franconia’s history

How does Franconia rank for history?

Franconia is more historic than 6% of U.S. towns, #206 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.

How old are the homes in Franconia?

0.8% of Franconia’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.0 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1988.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 (24), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.