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C+History
History · Herndon

Herndon’s post office opened in 1858, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 44% of U.S. towns · #102 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 173 buildings. Most of Herndon was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1915 on, and the census since 1880.

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

How Herndon began

When was Herndon founded?

1858

The Herndon post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 422 in 18802020 census: 24,655168 years

How historic is Herndon?

C+

More historic than 44% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Herndon’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Herndon is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #102 of 253 in Virginia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Herndon’s overall grade.
Founding era1858, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19402.3% of homes (±0.9) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register2 listings, 174 historic buildings, 70.5 per 10,000 residents · typical VA town 3.6 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 44%
NewerOlder
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 60%

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 Herndon’s 70.5 sits above most of its state (69% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 174 historic buildings outnumber those of 92% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share (±0.9 points) is firm at this size. 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 Herndon’s past

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

A historic districtThe Herndon Historic District takes in 173 historic buildings.On the map since 19157 editions of the USGS map, 1915 to 1994. Watch Herndon change.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

2 listings protect 174 historic buildings

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
174
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Herndon Depot
Herndon DepotHerndon Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Victorian1
Queen Anne1
Bungalow1
American Foursquare1
Colonial Revival1
Mixed1
Herndon DepotVictorian
Herndon Historic DistrictQueen Anne

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

On the map

Herndon on the map, 1915 to 1994

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

Herndon on the 1915 USGS mapHerndon on the 1944 USGS mapHerndon on the 1951 USGS mapHerndon on the 1966 USGS mapHerndon on the 1971 USGS mapHerndon on the 1983 USGS mapHerndon on the 1994 USGS map1915Fairfax 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 Herndon.

The story

How Herndon came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Herndon.

Read it all →

The early settlement was named Herndon in 1858, after Commander William Lewis Herndon, an American naval explorer and author of Exploration of the Valley of the Amazon. Commander Herndon captained the ill-fated steamer SS Central America, going down with his ship while helping to save over 150 of its passengers and crew. In the 1870s, many Northern soldiers and their families came to settle in the area, taking advantage of moderate climate and low land prices.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Herndon, 1858 to 1983

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1858Post officeThe Herndon post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1915On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1931Born hereWesley L. Fox is born here
  6. 1933In the archiveHABS VA-1386 (sheet 1 of 1) - Well House, 1009 Monroe Street
  7. 1935Born hereRonnie Dove is born here
  8. 1979Born hereSean Parker is born here
  9. 1980In the archiveModern office building in northern Virginia
  10. 1983Born hereAmaka Agugua-Hamilton is born here
By decade

Herndon, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1930s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s2 items
HABS VA-1386 (sheet 1 of 1) - Well House, 1009 Monroe Street1933HABS VA-1386 (sheet 1 of 1) - Well House, 1009 Monroe…Handbill distributed around Herndon, Virginia1936Handbill distributed around Herndon, Virginia
1940s–1970snothing 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
1980s3 items
Modern office building in northern Virginia1980Modern office building in northern VirginiaE-spire Communications Company's headquarters building near Dulles International Airport1980E-spire Communications Company's headquarters buildin…Modern office building in northern Virginia1980Modern office building in northern Virginia
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
Today6 recent
DLT Bldg2010DLT BldgHerndon, VA2008Herndon, VAOldmixedusedevhern2007OldmixedusedevhernHerndon VA Courtyard by Marriott2006Herndon VA Courtyard by MarriottHerndon-Fortnightly Library2005Herndon-Fortnightly LibraryHerndon Virginia CDP2000Herndon Virginia CDP
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.

HABS VA-1386 (sheet 1 of 1) - Well House, 1009 Monroe Street
Retake this viewHABS VA-1386 (sheet 1 of 1) - Well House, 1009 Monroe Street, 1933

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Herndon, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,0001880190019201940196019802000202024,655

Grew from 422 people in 1880 to 24,655 in 2020, more than tenfold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Herndon

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

See all →
Sean ParkerAmerican entrepreneur, programmer and philanthr… · b. 1979
Ronnie DoveAmerican musician · b. 1935
W
Wesley L. FoxUnited States Marine Corps Medal of Honor recip… · b. 1931
Amaka Agugua-HamiltonAmerican basketball player and coach · b. 1983
Joe SnivelyAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1996
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Herndon’s post office has been open since 1858.

Hamlets and corners on the map
CooktownHerndon Heights
Gone or out of use
Oak Grove Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Herndon
Chestnut Grove

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

Help out

Finish Herndon’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewHABS VA-1386 (sheet 1 of 1) - Well Hous…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Dranesville1 historic placeC+McNair1 historic placeC−Reston2 historic placesC−HutchisonIts storyD−Oak GroveIts storyD−

Questions about Herndon’s history

What year was Herndon founded?

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

How does Herndon rank for history?

Herndon is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #102 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 Herndon?

Two places: the Herndon Depot (listed 1979) and the Herndon Historic District (1991).

How old are the homes in Herndon?

2% of Herndon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1983.

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 (8), the Library of Congress (3), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.