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History · Fries

Fries’ post office opened in 1901, and 72% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Fries Boarding Houses. Below: 22 old photos and papers, maps from 1933 on, and the census since 1910.

1901first post office
1on the National Register
72%homes built before 1940
22old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Fries’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Fries began

When was Fries founded?

1901

The Fries post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,775 in 19102020 census: 450125 years
Founding year: the first Fries post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Fries’ past

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

A town in old photos22 old photos, postcards and papers.Old housesHalf of Fries’ homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 2,205 in 1930; 450 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · By decade

Fries, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s22 items
View of the Washington Mills, Fries Va. Housing conditions are fairly good, but housekeeping not very good. Working ver…1910View of the Washington Mills, Fries Va. Housing condi…View of the Washington Mills1910View of the Washington MillsA part of the spinning force working in the Washington Cotton Mills, Fries, Va. Group posed by the overseer. All work. …1911A part of the spinning force working in the Washingto…One of the young doffers in Washington Cotton Mills, Fries, Va., going to dinner. Said he was 15 years old, but it is d…1911One of the young doffers in Washington Cotton Mills, …Some of the doffers in the Washington Cotton Mills, Fries, Va. The smallest one said he was 15 years old but, for that …1911Some of the doffers in the Washington Cotton Mills, F…Group of adolescent spinners in Washington Cotton Mills1911Group of adolescent spinners in Washington Cotton Mil…One of the youngest spinners in the Washington Cotton Mills1911One of the youngest spinners in the Washington Cotton…One of the young doffers in Washington Cotton Mills1911One of the young doffers in Washington Cotton MillsView of the Washington Cotton Mills1911View of the Washington Cotton MillsT.J. Fields and family. The father cards, two girls spin, boy on right end picks up bobbins, Washington Cotton Mills1911T.J. Fields and family. The father cards, two girls s…Mill boys' recreation. A Sunday swim. Base-ball on Sunday is tabooed here. Sunday-school and church are well attended. …1911Mill boys' recreation. A Sunday swim. Base-ball on Su…Some of the youngsters working in the spinning rooms of the Washington Cotton Mills1911Some of the youngsters working in the spinning rooms …Some of the doffers in the Washington Cotton Mills1911Some of the doffers in the Washington Cotton MillsA part of the spinning force working in the Washington Cotton Mills1911A part of the spinning force working in the Washingto…A part of the spinning force working in the Washington Cotton Mills1911A part of the spinning force working in the Washingto…Sunday morning by the river. All of these boys work in Washington Cotton Mills1911Sunday morning by the river. All of these boys work i…Some of the doffers in the Washington Cotton Mills1911Some of the doffers in the Washington Cotton MillsFamily of J. J. Moore. All but mother and two smallest children on steps work in Washington Cotton Mills1911Family of J. J. Moore. All but mother and two smalles…Family of A.P. Stata (he is at church). Father, son and two oldest girls in photo work in Washington Cotton Mills1911Family of A.P. Stata (he is at church). Father, son a…Tommy Bullard and his family. He has been sweeping for over a year in Washington Cotton Mills1911Tommy Bullard and his family. He has been sweeping fo…Dependent (able-bodied) Parents. Fries, Va. Family of Albert Senter. He said, "I don't work steady. Have a garden here.…1911Dependent (able-bodied) Parents. Fries, Va. Family of…S.D. Ison and family. Father works some. Both boys on right of photo have been in Washington Cotton Mills1911S.D. Ison and family. Father works some. Both boys on…
1920s–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
Today2 recent
Fries, VA2012Fries, VAVAMap-doton-Fries2005VAMap-doton-Fries
The story

How Fries came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Fries.

Read it all →

Fries was named after North Carolina cotton mill owner Colonel Francis Henry Fries. Jim 'Pipe' Carico (of Stephens Creek, Virginia, the nearest incorporated town) contacted Fries in 1900 and proposed Bartlett Falls on New River as a site for a hydroelectric dam that could power a cotton mill.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Fries, census by census

05001,0001,5002,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,205

Peaked at 2,205 in 1930; 450 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Timeline

Fries, 1901 to 1938

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1901Post officeThe Fries post office opens
  3. 1910In the archiveView of the Washington Mills, Fries Va. Housing conditions are fairly good, but housekeep…
  4. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 2,205
  5. 1933On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1938Born hereJ. Wade Gilley is born here
On the map

Fries on the map, 1933 to 1984

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

Fries on the 1933 USGS mapFries on the 1965 USGS mapFries on the 1970 USGS mapFries on the 1984 USGS map1933Galax 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 Fries.

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.

View of the Washington Mills, Fries Va. Housing conditions are fairly good, but housekeeping not very good. Working ver…
Retake this viewView of the Washington Mills, Fries Va. Housing conditions are fairly good, but housekeeping not very good. Working ver…, 1910

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Fries

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
2007
Fries Boarding Houses
Fries Boarding Houses
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Colonial Revival1
Fries Boarding HousesColonial Revival

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Fries’s post office has been open since 1901.

Gone or out of use
Blair Ferrycrossing
1cemetery inside Fries
Fries

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

Help out

Finish Fries’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 viewView of the Washington Mills, Fries Va.…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Fries’ history

What year was Fries founded?

The Fries post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Fries?

One place: the Fries Boarding Houses (listed 2007).

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 Wikimedia Commons (6), the Library of Congress (18), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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) 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.