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CHistory
History · Independent Hill

Independent Hill’s post office opened in 1841

More historic than 27% of U.S. towns · #140 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it

Most of Independent Hill was built recently: 0.5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2000. Below: maps from 1927 on.

1841first post office
0on the National Register
0.5%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Independent Hill began

When was Independent Hill founded?

1841

The Independent Hill post office opened in 1841, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 10,165185 years

How historic is Independent Hill?

C

More historic than 27% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Independent Hill post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Independent Hill’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Independent Hill is more historic than 27% of U.S. towns, #140 of 253 in Virginia. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Independent Hill’s overall grade.
Founding era1841, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19400.5% of homes (±0.6) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%DNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical VA town 3.6 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 27%
NewerOlder
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 45%

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 Independent Hill’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (17% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to C+. The pre-1940 share (±0.6 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 Independent Hill’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 Independent Hill are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages9 hamlets and corners are still on the map.Deep rootsA post office since 1841: 185 years of Independent Hill.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Independent Hill’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Independent Hill’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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Independent Hill had its own post office from 1841 to 1931.

Independent Hill
1841–1931
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Azalea Mobile Home ParkCarriage Hill EstatesDevonshireGaila WoodsLindau WoodsMinnieville ManorPrestige ManorValley VueWoodhaven
Gone or out of use
Smith Schoolschool

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

Timeline

Independent Hill, 1841 to 1931

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1841Post officeThe Independent Hill post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1927On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1931Post officeThe Independent Hill post office closes
The story so far

Independent Hill, in brief

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

Independent Hill is an unincorporated town in Prince William County, Virginia, United States. It is located along State Route 234 at the intersection with Joplin Road. There are only a few remaining businesses. In early 2006, a realignment of 234 bypassed the town, leaving it on a side road. The greater Independent Hill area is defined by the Census Bureau as a census-designated place (CDP), with a population of 10,165 as of 2020. Independent Hill is also the home of the Prince William County School Board Complex. The administrative, support, and maintenance personnel of the school system report there. The Greenwood Gold Mine operated nearby for a few years before closing in 1885.

Its first post office opened in 1841. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 7,419 to 10,165 (+37%).

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

By decade

Independent Hill, decade by decade

Today2 recent
2019-07-22 15 54 55 View south along Virginia State Route 234 (Dumfries Road) toward the Potomac River from an airplane…20192019-07-22 15 54 55 View south along Virginia State R…2016-10-11 10 54 15 View north along Virginia State Route 234 (Dumfries Road) at Colchester Park Drive in Independent H…20162016-10-11 10 54 15 View north along Virginia State R…
On the map

Independent Hill on the map, 1927 to 1994

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

Independent Hill on the 1927 USGS mapIndependent Hill on the 1940 USGS mapIndependent Hill on the 1951 USGS mapIndependent Hill on the 1966 USGS mapIndependent Hill on the 1971 USGS mapIndependent Hill on the 1984 USGS mapIndependent Hill on the 1994 USGS map1927Quantico 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 Independent Hill.

Famous people

Famous people close to Independent Hill

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

See all →
Henry Lee IIIAmerican politician, governor, and representati… · b. 1756
Haley WebbAmerican actress · b. 1985
Meyers LeonardAmerican basketball player · b. 1992
Shelby LynneAmerican singer-songwriter · b. 1968
Kendall MarshallAmerican basketball player · b. 1991
S
ShaboozeyAmerican singer · b. 1995
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Montclair1 historic placeDDale City1 historic placeC−

Questions about Independent Hill’s history

What year was Independent Hill founded?

The Independent Hill post office opened in 1841, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Independent Hill rank for history?

Independent Hill is more historic than 27% of U.S. towns, #140 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.

How old are the homes in Independent Hill?

0.5% of Independent Hill’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 2000.

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 (2), 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.