Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Photo: Rutke421 · Public domainMore historic than 93% of U.S. towns. What drives it
3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 85 buildings. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1908 on, and the census since 1880.
Gordonsville dates its founding to 1794 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.
More historic than 93% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Gordonsville is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its age lowest.
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 Gordonsville’s 596 sits above most of its state (91% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 87 historic buildings outnumber those of 89% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Gordonsville’s history is told.
Lost half of its people between 1890 and 1930, then grew 3-fold.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Gordonsville’s Wikipedia page.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
From Wikipedia’s history of Gordonsville.
In 1787, Nathaniel Gordon purchased 1,350 acres (5.46 square km) of land, then known as "Newville," from a cousin of President James Madison.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Gordonsville, cut from the printed page as they were published.
ber of the Black Horse Cavalry, I was on the enemy's flank while they were at Mr. Barton Haxall's stables, now Mr. Atkinson's, their object being the destruction of the railroad at Gordonsville. Our people at Gordonsville fired up an old disabled locomotive which they would take very quietly down the road to Trevillian, and then reversing it would rush back, the whistle screeching as if the world were about to come to its end.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The building of the Charlottesville and Rapidan Railroad cut off Gordonsville from her main backcountry trade, which has now fallen to Barboursville and Somerset. These hamlets have become the main depots of Greene and Madison, respectively, and their trade in the minor products of the farms is something phenomenal.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born herePhilip Pendleton Barbour is born here
Born hereJ. W. Flanagan is born here
BuiltExchange Hotel is built
Born hereMarv Goodwin is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
Born hereAnn Marie Calhoun is born hereEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Gordonsville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Gordonsville.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1908Sheet 2 of 2Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Gordonsville’s page.
Retake this view · +15Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
In 1794, according to Wikidata. Gordonsville’s post office opened in 1813, and the census of 1880 counted 919 people here.
Gordonsville is more historic than 93% 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.
Three places: the Exchange Hotel (listed 1973), the Gordonsville Historic District (1983) and the Baker-Strickler House (2009).
24% of Gordonsville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.1 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1970.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (7), the Library of Congress (4), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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