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History · Horntown

Half of Horntown’s homes were built after 1997

Most of Horntown was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1997. Below: 10 old photos and papers and maps from 1943 on.

0on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
10old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Horntown’s archive · credits on each photo
The story so far

Horntown, in brief

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

Horntown is a census-designated place (CDP) in Accomack County, Virginia, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 912. In the mid-19th century, Horntown was a stagecoach stop on the route between Wilmington, Delaware and Eastville.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 574 to 912 (+59%).

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

Timeline

Horntown, 1792 to 1943

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1792Post officeThe Horntown post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1930In the archiveChincoteague Farm
  5. 1943On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Horntown, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s8 items
Chincoteague Farm1930Chincoteague FarmChincoteague Farm1930Chincoteague FarmChincoteague Farm1930Chincoteague FarmChincoteague Farm1930Chincoteague FarmChincoteague Farm1930Chincoteague FarmChincoteague Farm1930Chincoteague FarmChincoteague Farm1930Chincoteague FarmChincoteague Farm1930Chincoteague Farm
1940s–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 unknown2 to date
Poplar Grove, Mosquito CreekDate?Poplar Grove, Mosquito CreekChincoteague Farm, Chincoteague BayDate?Chincoteague Farm, Chincoteague Bay
Today3 recent
USPO, Horntown, Virginia (July 2018)2018USPO, Horntown, Virginia (July 2018)Horntown houses, summer day2018Horntown houses, summer dayBuildings in2018Buildings in
On the map

Horntown on the map, 1943 to 1986

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

Horntown on the 1943 USGS mapHorntown on the 1965 USGS mapHorntown on the 1979 USGS mapHorntown on the 1986 USGS map1943Chincoteague West sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Horntown.

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.

Chincoteague Farm
Retake this viewChincoteague Farm, 1930

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Horntown

Nobody well known was born in Horntown itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Hugh Latimer DrydenAmerican aeronautical scientist and civil serva… · b. 1898
Ephraim King Wilson IIAmerican politician · b. 1821
J
John S. SpenceAmerican politician · b. 1788
E
Ephraim King WilsonAmerican politician · b. 1771
Judy JohnsonAmerican Hall of Fame baseball player · b. 1899
B
Bill HinnantAmerican actor · b. 1935
Help out

Finish Horntown’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewChincoteague Farm: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Horntown’s history

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 (3), the Library of Congress (10), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.