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C+History
History · Independence

Independence’s post office opened in 1850, and 10% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 43% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Grayson County Courthouse. Below: maps from 1933 on and the census since 1940.

1850first post office
1on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Independence began

When was Independence founded?

1850

The Independence post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 429 in 19402020 census: 1,011176 years

How historic is Independence?

C+

More historic than 43% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Independence’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Independence is more historic than 43% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Independence’s overall grade.
Founding era1850, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194010.2% of homes (±6.4) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register1 listing, 8.8 per 10,000 residents · typical VA town 3.6 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 43%
NewerOlder

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 Independence’s 8.8 sits near the middle of its state (53% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±6.4 points). 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 Independence’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Independence are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Independence’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Independence’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Independence came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Independence.

Read it all →

The Brookside Farm and Mill and the original Grayson County Courthouse are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Independence, 1850 to 1933

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850Post officeThe Independence post office opens
  3. 1892Born hereWade Ward is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1933On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Independence, decade by decade

Today9 recent
Independence historical marker, Grayson County2017Independence historical marker, Grayson County2017-06-25 17 56 47 View north along U.S. Route 21 (Independence Avenue) just north of U.S. Route 58 (Main Street) in20172017-06-25 17 56 47 View north along U.S. Route 21 (I…Davis Bourne Mansion, Independence, Virginia (Grayson County), Built Circa 18652013Davis Bourne Mansion, Independence, Virginia (Grayson…A View From the Davis Bourne Mansion, Independence, Virginia (Grayson County)2013A View From the Davis Bourne Mansion, Independence, V…A Room in the Davis Bourne Mansion, Independence, Virginia (Grayson County)2013A Room in the Davis Bourne Mansion, Independence, Vir…OldGraysonCoVaCourthouse2006OldGraysonCoVaCourthouseIndependence va couthhouse during 4thJuly 20062006Independence va couthhouse during 4thJuly 2006GraysonCoVaCourthouse2006GraysonCoVaCourthouseVAMap-doton-Independence2005VAMap-doton-Independence
On the map

Independence on the map, 1933 to 1966

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

Independence on the 1933 USGS mapIndependence on the 1966 USGS map1933Independence 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 Independence.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Independence

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
1978
Grayson County Courthouse
Grayson County Courthouse
Buildings
Grayson County CourthouseBuilding

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

People over time

Independence, census by census

02004006008001,0001,20019401960198020002020Peak: 1,112

Between 429 and 1,112 people in every census since 1940.

9 censuses, 1940–2020.

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

Questions about Independence’s history

What year was Independence founded?

The Independence post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Independence rank for history?

Independence is more historic than 43% of U.S. towns. 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 Independence?

One place: the Grayson County Courthouse (listed 1978).

How old are the homes in Independence?

10% of Independence’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.4 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1967.

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 (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.