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B+History
History · Gloucester Courthouse

5 of Gloucester Courthouse’s places are on the National Register

More historic than 69% of U.S. towns · #58 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it

Most of Gloucester Courthouse was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2001. Below: 3 old photos and papers and maps from 1906 on.

5on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Gloucester Courthouse’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

About Gloucester Courthouse’s history

How historic is Gloucester Courthouse?

B+

More historic than 69% 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 Gloucester Courthouse’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Gloucester Courthouse is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns, #58 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 Gloucester Courthouse’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19407.3% of homes (±6.3) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register5 listings, 77 historic buildings, 231 per 10,000 residents · typical VA town 3.6 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 69%
NewerOlder
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 77%

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 Gloucester Courthouse’s 231 sits above most of its state (80% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 77 historic buildings outnumber those of 88% 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 (±6.3 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 Gloucester Courthouse’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Gloucester Downtown Historic District takes in 57 historic buildings.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Gloucester Courthouse, and 3 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19065 editions of the USGS map, 1906 to 1986. Watch Gloucester Courthouse change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Gloucester Courthouse’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Gloucester Courthouse’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewGloucester, Virginia. Fortifications sh…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

5 listings protect 77 historic buildings

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

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
77
each building in a district counts
first listed
1973
Gloucester County Courthouse Square Historic Di…
Gloucester County Courthouse Square Historic DistrictGloucester Women's ClubZion Poplars Baptist ChurchT.C. Walker HouseGloucester Downtown Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Colonial2
Gothic Revival2
Colonial Revival1
Vernacular1
Georgian1
Federal1
Gloucester County Courthouse Square Historic DistrictColonial
Gloucester Women's ClubVernacular
Zion Poplars Baptist ChurchGothic Revival
T.C. Walker HouseGothic Revival
Gloucester Downtown Historic DistrictGeorgian

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

Places that used to be

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

Gloucester Courthouse had its own post office from 1794 to 1893. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Gloucester Courthouse
1794–1893
Gloucester
1893–today
Money
1903–1919
Short Lane
1937–1956
17901910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
EdgehillGloucesterMoney
Gone or out of use
Francis J Mellar Fieldairport
1cemetery inside Gloucester Courthouse
Newington

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

The story

How Gloucester Courthouse came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Gloucester Courthouse.

Read it all →

The Gloucester County Courthouse Square Historic District, Gloucester Downtown Historic District, Abingdon Glebe House, Airville, Burgh Westra, Cappahosic House, Gloucester Point Archaeological District, Gloucester Women's Club, Hockley, Little England, Roaring Spring, Rosewell, Toddsbury, T.C. Walker House, Ware Parish Church, and Warner Hall are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Gloucester Courthouse, 1794 to 1933

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1794Post officeThe Gloucester Courthouse post office opens
  3. 19th century
  4. 1862In the archiveGloucester, Virginia. Fortifications showing a 11-inch smooth-bore Dahlgren naval gun
  5. 1882Born hereAugustine Warner Robins is born here
  6. 1893Post officeThe Gloucester Courthouse post office closes
  7. 1893Post officeThe Gloucester post office opens
  8. 20th century
  9. 1903Post officeThe Money post office opens
  10. 1906On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1919Post officeThe Money post office closes
  12. 1933In the archiveSIDE FACADE - Hay's Store, Gloucester, Gloucester County, VA
By decade

Gloucester Courthouse, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s1 item
Gloucester, Virginia. Fortifications showing a 11-inch smooth-bore Dahlgren naval gun1862Gloucester, Virginia. Fortifications showing a 11-inc…
1930s1 item
SIDE FACADE - Hay's Store, Gloucester, Gloucester County, VA1933SIDE FACADE - Hay's Store, Gloucester, Gloucester Cou…
1940s–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
Date unknown1 to date
Abingdon Glebe House, U.S. Route 17 vicinity, Gloucester vicinity Gloucester County, Virginia)Date?Abingdon Glebe House, U.S. Route 17 vicinity, Glouces…
Today13 recent
AIRVILLE, GLOUCESTER, GLOUCESTER COUNTY, VA2018AIRVILLE, GLOUCESTER, GLOUCESTER COUNTY, VAWare Church historical marker2017Ware Church historical markerGloucester-Mathews Gazette-Journal offices2017Gloucester-Mathews Gazette-Journal officesDocumentVA3wVA14eRoadSigns-GlousterCourthouse2016VA3wVA14eRoadSigns-GlousterCourthouseSign at Rosewell Ruins, May, 2013 - 42013Sign at Rosewell Ruins, May, 2013 - 4Gloucester va tc walker house2013Gloucester va tc walker houseGloucester va coca cola factory2013Gloucester va coca cola factoryGloucester va beaverdam reservoir 32013Gloucester va beaverdam reservoir 3Gloucester va beaverdam reservoir 22013Gloucester va beaverdam reservoir 2Gloucester va beaverdam reservoir 12013Gloucester va beaverdam reservoir 1Main Street Gloucester2012Main Street GloucesterGloucester, VA Flower Basket on lamp post. - By Chuck Thompson of TTC Media2010Gloucester, VA Flower Basket on lamp post. - By Chuck…Gloucester, VA Flower Basket - By Chuck Thompson of TTC Media2010Gloucester, VA Flower Basket - By Chuck Thompson of T…
On the map

Gloucester Courthouse on the map, 1906 to 1986

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

Gloucester Courthouse on the 1906 USGS mapGloucester Courthouse on the 1952 USGS mapGloucester Courthouse on the 1965 USGS mapGloucester Courthouse on the 1973 USGS mapGloucester Courthouse on the 1986 USGS map1906Williamsburg 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 Gloucester Courthouse.

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.

Gloucester, Virginia. Fortifications showing a 11-inch smooth-bore Dahlgren naval gun
Retake this viewGloucester, Virginia. Fortifications showing a 11-inch smooth-bore Dahlgren naval gun, 1862

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

Retake this view · +15

Questions about Gloucester Courthouse’s history

How does Gloucester Courthouse rank for history?

Gloucester Courthouse is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns, #58 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 Gloucester Courthouse?

5 listings: 3 buildings and 2 historic districts, the Gloucester County Courthouse Square Historic District and the Gloucester Downtown Historic District, with 74 contributing buildings. 77 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Gloucester Courthouse?

7% of Gloucester Courthouse’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.3 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 2001.

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 (16), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (5), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.