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History · Grundy

Grundy’s post office opened in 1858, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Grundy was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1968. Its Register listing is the Buchanan County Courthouse. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1915 on, and the census since 1880.

1858first post office
1on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Grundy’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Grundy began

When was Grundy founded?

1858

The Grundy post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Mouth Of Slate (1857) and Royal City (1946), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 123 in 18802020 census: 875168 years
Founding year: the first Grundy post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Grundy’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Grundy, and 3 old place names are still on the map.Boom and bustPeaked at 2,287 in 1960; 875 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19153 editions of the USGS map, 1915 to 1977. Watch Grundy change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Grundy’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Grundy’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 viewGrundy Virginia flood 1984: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Grundy’s post office has been open since 1858. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Mouth Of Slate
1857–1858
Grundy
1858–today
Royal City
1946–1961
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
LongbottomPoetownRoyal City

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

People over time

Grundy, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,50018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,287

Peaked at 2,287 in 1960; 875 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Grundy came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Grundy.

Read it all →

The town, founded in 1858 upon the formation of Buchanan County, was named for Felix Grundy, United States Attorney General (1838–1839) and United States Senator from Tennessee (1839–1840). It was incorporated in 1876. The present courthouse dates from 1905 and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1982. Since the late 19th century, this area depended on coal mining as the basis of its economy. The decline in mining resulted in a loss of jobs and population.

ChaptersCivil War eventsRed Jacket Mine explosionGrundy Flood-Control ProjectBase of a regional grocery store chainEducation as a new sustaining industryAppalachian School of Law shooting

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Grundy, 1857 to 1984

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1857Post officeThe Mouth Of Slate post office opens
  3. 1858Post officeThe Mouth Of Slate post office closes
  4. 1858Post officeThe Grundy post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1915On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1944Born hereLee Smith is born here
  8. 1946Post officeThe Royal City post office opens
  9. 1947Born hereBev Perdue is born here
  10. 1950Born hereArthur Byron Cover is born here
  11. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 2,287
  12. 1961Post officeThe Royal City post office closes
  13. 1972Born hereRyan O'Quinn is born here
  14. 1984In the archiveGrundy Virginia flood 1984
By decade

Grundy, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1980s1 item
Grundy Virginia flood 19841984Grundy Virginia flood 1984
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
Grundy2005Date?Grundy2005
Today7 recent
Grundy, Virginia Walmart Supercenter2020Grundy, Virginia Walmart SupercenterGrundy Town Center2020Grundy Town Center2017-06-11 18 32 49 View east along Virginia State Route 83 (Edgewater Drive) just east of U.S. Route 460 (Anchorage Ci…20172017-06-11 18 32 49 View east along Virginia State Ro…Buchanan County Courthouse2011Buchanan County CourthouseGrundyHS2009GrundyHSBuchananCoCourthouse2009BuchananCoCourthouseVAMap-doton-Grundy2005VAMap-doton-Grundy
On the map

Grundy on the map, 1915 to 1977

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

Grundy on the 1915 USGS mapGrundy on the 1963 USGS mapGrundy on the 1977 USGS map1915Hurley 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 Grundy.

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.

Grundy Virginia flood 1984
Retake this viewGrundy Virginia flood 1984, 1984

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Grundy

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1982
Buchanan County Courthouse
Buchanan County Courthouse
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Classical Revival1
Buchanan County CourthouseClassical Revival

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

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Grundy

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

See all →
Bev PerdueAmerican politician and 73rd Governor of North … · b. 1947
Ryan O'QuinnAmerican actor · b. 1972
L
Lee SmithAmerican writer · b. 1944
A
Arthur Byron CoverAmerican writer · b. 1950
Gurney NormanAmerican writer and professor from Virginia · b. 1937

Questions about Grundy’s history

What year was Grundy founded?

The Grundy post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Grundy?

One place: the Buchanan County Courthouse (listed 1982).

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 (9), 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.