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BHistory
History · Gate City

Gate City’s post office opened in 1890, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 64% of U.S. towns. What drives it

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 47 buildings. Below: maps from 1935 on and the census since 1900.

1890first post office
1on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Gate City began

When was Gate City founded?

1890

The Gate City post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Estillville (1825), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 521 in 19002020 census: 2,043136 years

How historic is Gate City?

B

More historic than 64% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Gate City’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Gate City is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Gate City’s overall grade.
Founding era1890, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194012.8% of homes (±5.9) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register1 listing, 47 historic buildings, 244 per 10,000 residents · typical VA town 3.6 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 64%
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 Gate City’s 244 sits above most of its state (81% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 47 historic buildings outnumber those of 84% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.9 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 Gate City’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 Gate City are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Gate City Historic District takes in 47 historic buildings.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Gate City’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Gate City’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 National Register

1 listing protects 47 historic buildings

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
47
each building in a district counts
first listed
2010
Gate City Historic District
Gate City Historic District
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
Commercial Style1
Colonial Revival1
Tudor Revival1
Bungalow/Craftsman1
Moderne1
Gate City Historic DistrictGreek Revival

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

The story

How Gate City came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Gate City.

Read it all →

In 1771, Silas Engart received a land grant of 200 acres that included the location of the future town. By the time of Scott County's formation in 1815, landowner James Davidson Sr. donated approximately 13 acres of his plantation for establishing the county seat. The location of the town was such that it would emerge as an important commercial center for people and goods traveling through Big Moccasin Gap and the North Fork of the Holston River.

When the county seat was established in 1815, it was named Winfield in honor of War of 1812 hero Gen. Winfield Scott. The main street of the new town honored war hero and future president Andrew Jackson.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Gate City, 1805 to 1999

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1805Born hereFayette McMullen is born here
  3. 1825Post officeThe Estillville post office opens
  4. 1826Born hereJames Stewart Martin is born here
  5. 1890Post officeThe Estillville post office closes
  6. 1890Post officeThe Gate City post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1935On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1999Born hereMac McClung is born here
By decade

Gate City, decade by decade

Today19 recent
Gate City High School Aug 20242024Gate City High School Aug 2024Antioch Church during the 79th annual Quillin Family Reunion2019Antioch Church during the 79th annual Quillin Family …Graphic Imaging Technology Grades 10-122017Graphic Imaging Technology Grades 10-12Carter-Family-marker-va2017Carter-Family-marker-va2017-06-12 17 30 38 View north along Virginia State Route 72 (Veterans Memorial Highway) at Virginia State Route 71 (Ni…20172017-06-12 17 30 38 View north along Virginia State R…Gate City High School at NT2016Gate City High School at NTScott County Courthouse, Gate City, Virginia2013Scott County Courthouse, Gate City, VirginiaGate City, Virginia (8126610730) (2)2012Gate City, Virginia (8126610730) (2)Gate City, Virginia (8126610308) (2)2012Gate City, Virginia (8126610308) (2)Gate City, Virginia (8126609622) (2)2012Gate City, Virginia (8126609622) (2)Gate City, Virginia2012Gate City, VirginiaGate City, Virginia2012Gate City, VirginiaGate City, Virginia (8126585299) (2)2012Gate City, Virginia (8126585299) (2)Gate City, Virginia (8126585071) (2)2012Gate City, Virginia (8126585071) (2)Gate City, Virginia2012Gate City, VirginiaGate City, Virginia (8126584387) (2)2012Gate City, Virginia (8126584387) (2)Gate City, Virginia2012Gate City, VirginiaGate City, Virginia2012Gate City, VirginiaGateCity1-MarkLindamood2007GateCity1-MarkLindamood
On the map

Gate City on the map, 1935 to 1978

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

Gate City on the 1935 USGS mapGate City on the 1968 USGS mapGate City on the 1978 USGS map1935Gate City 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 Gate City.

People over time

Gate City, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,494

Between 521 and 2,494 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Gate City

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

See all →
Mac McClungAmerican basketball player · b. 1999
Fayette McMullenAmerican politician · b. 1805
James Stewart MartinAmerican politician · b. 1826
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Gate City’s post office has been open since 1890. Another post office, Estillville, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Estillville
1825–1890
Gate City
1890–today
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Jayne Mill
Gone or out of use
Prospect Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Gate City
EstillSmithStrong

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.

Weber CityIts storyC−

Questions about Gate City’s history

What year was Gate City founded?

The Gate City post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Gate City rank for history?

Gate City is more historic than 64% 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 Gate City?

One place: the Gate City Historic District (listed 2010).

How old are the homes in Gate City?

13% of Gate City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.9 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1967.

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 (19), Wikidata (1), 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.