History · Hillsville

Hillsville’s post office opened in 1839, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 79% of U.S. towns · #41 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it

3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 14 buildings. Below: 22 old photos and papers, maps from 1956 on, and the census since 1850.

1839first post office

3on the National Register

13%homes built before 1940

22old photos & papers

2famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Hillsville’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Hillsville began

When was Hillsville founded?

1839

The Hillsville post office opened in 1839, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1876.

First census: 181 in 18502020 census: 2,884187 years

How historic is Hillsville?

A⁻

More historic than 79% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: the first Hillsville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1876.

History grade

What drives Hillsville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hillsville is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns, #41 of 253 in Virginia. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A⁻

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hillsville’s overall grade.

Founding era1839, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA⁻Homes built before 194012.9% of homes (±9.6) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%B⁻National Register3 listings, 15 historic buildings, 52.4 per 10,000 residents · typical VA town 3.6 · U.S. 2.4B⁺

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 79%

NewerOlder

Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 84%

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 Hillsville’s 52.4 sits above most of its state (67% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 15 historic buildings outnumber those of 78% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.6 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1876.

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 Hillsville’s past

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

A town in old photos22 old photos, postcards and papers, 1912–1980.Deep rootsA post office since 1839: 187 years of Hillsville.

★ What stands out · By decade

Hillsville, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s20 items

FEUD. SCENES IN VIRGINIA MOUNTAIN TOWN AT TRIAL AFTER FEUD

1912FEUD. SCENES IN VIRGINIA MOUNTAIN TOWN AT TRIAL AFTER…

1920s–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

1980s2 items

1980Bottle House

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

Today7 recent

2018Hillsville-Carroll-County-Bank-building-va

2017Carter Hydraulic Ram in concrete casing

2017Carroll County Middle School

2017-06-25 19 37 51 View south along U.S. Route 52 (Main Street) at Spruce Hollow Lane in

20172017-06-25 19 37 51 View south along U.S. Route 52 (M…

2016Carroll County Courthouse

2013Winn Dixie

2013HillsvilleVA

Timeline

Hillsville, 1839 to 1980

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

19th century
1839Post officeThe Hillsville post office opens
1862Born hereM. Price Webb is born here
1865Born hereElizabeth Fry Page is born here
20th century
1912In the archiveFEUD. SCENES IN VIRGINIA MOUNTAIN TOWN AT TRIAL AFTER FEUD
1956On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1980In the archiveBottle House

The story so far

Hillsville, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Hillsville yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Hillsville is a town in Carroll County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,897 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Carroll County.

Its first post office opened in 1839. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 2,681 to 2,884 (+8%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

On the map

Hillsville on the map, 1956 to 1978

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

1956Macks Mountain 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 Hillsville.

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.

Retake this viewFEUD. SCENES IN VIRGINIA MOUNTAIN TOWN AT TRIAL AFTER FEUD, 1912

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

Retake this view · +15

On the National Register

3 listings protect 15 historic buildings

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

places listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

1982

Carroll County Courthouse

BuildingsDistrictsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Classical Revival1

Art Deco1

Commercial1

Carroll County CourthouseBuilding

Hillsville Historic DistrictClassical Revival

Carter Hydraulic RamsStructure

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

People over time

Hillsville, census by census

Grew from 181 people in 1850 to 2,884 in 2020, more than tenfold.

12 censuses, 1850–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Hillsville

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

See all →

Elizabeth Fry PageAmerican author, editor · b. 1865

M. Price WebbMember of the Senate of Virginia · b. 1862

Places that used to be

Old burying grounds

Hillsville’s post office has been open since 1839.

6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Hillsville

Carter-WilkersonCharles H WebbGardnerGardnerNorthWilkinson

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

Help out

Finish Hillsville’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 viewFEUD. SCENES IN VIRGINIA MOUNTAIN TOWN …: stand where they stood+15 Share 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.

Woodlawn1 historic placeC⁺

Questions about Hillsville’s history

What year was Hillsville founded?

The Hillsville post office opened in 1839, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1876.

How does Hillsville rank for history?

Hillsville is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns, #41 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 Hillsville?

Three places: the Carroll County Courthouse (listed 1982), the Hillsville Historic District (2002) and the Carter Hydraulic Rams (2002).

How old are the homes in Hillsville?

13% of Hillsville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.6 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1975.

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 (21), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.

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