Hanover’s post office opened in 1900, and 57% of its homes were built before 1940
3 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Hanover County Courthouse, a National Historic Landmark, and a historic district with 4 buildings.
How Hanover began
When was Hanover founded?
The Hanover post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Hanover Courthouse (1787), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
3 historic places in Hanover
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.
Architectural styles listings
★ Landmark
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Lost post offices and places now gone
Hanover’s post office has been open since 1900. Another post office, Hanover Courthouse, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Hanover’s history
What year was Hanover founded?
The Hanover post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What is on the National Register in Hanover?
Three places: the Hanover County Courthouse (listed 1969), the Hanover County Courthouse Historic District (1971) and the St. Paul's Episcopal Church (1994).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.