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History · Ivanhoe

Ivanhoe’s post office opened in 1890, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1930 on.

1890first post office
0on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Ivanhoe began

When was Ivanhoe founded?

1890

The Ivanhoe post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Ivanhoe Furnace (1884), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 501136 years
Founding year: the first Ivanhoe post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Ivanhoe’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 Ivanhoe are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ivanhoe’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ivanhoe’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 Ivanhoe came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Ivanhoe.

Read it all →

Ivanhoe was the birthplace of Robert Sayers Sheffey, eccentric Methodist circuit rider and evangelist.

A nearby rock quarry and mines were no longer operating in 2018.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Ivanhoe, 1820 to 1942

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1820Born hereRobert Sheffey is born here
  3. 1884Post officeThe Ivanhoe Furnace post office opens
  4. 1890Post officeThe Ivanhoe Furnace post office closes
  5. 1890Post officeThe Ivanhoe post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1930On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1942Born hereDavid Huddle is born here
By decade

Ivanhoe, decade by decade

Today18 recent
New River Trail State Park New River Cleanup Day2013New River Trail State Park New River Cleanup DayIvanhoe Furnace on the New River Trail2013Ivanhoe Furnace on the New River TrailNew River Trail Horse Trailer Parking Lot2012New River Trail Horse Trailer Parking LotNew River Trail Horse Trailer Parking Lot2012New River Trail Horse Trailer Parking LotNew River Trail Horse Trailer Parking Lot2012New River Trail Horse Trailer Parking LotNew River Trail Horse Trailer Parking Lot2012New River Trail Horse Trailer Parking LotIvanhoe Horse Trailer Parking Lot2012Ivanhoe Horse Trailer Parking LotIvanhoe Horse Trailer Parking Lot2012Ivanhoe Horse Trailer Parking LotIvanhoe Horse Trailer Parking Lot2012Ivanhoe Horse Trailer Parking LotIvanhoe Furnace2012Ivanhoe FurnaceRobins Git-N-Go2011Robins Git-N-GoOdd Fellows Building2011Odd Fellows BuildingIvanhoe, Virginia2011Ivanhoe, VirginiaIvanhoe, Virginia - panoramio (1)2011Ivanhoe, Virginia - panoramio (1)Ivanhoe, VA 24350, USA2011Ivanhoe, VA 24350, USAIvanhoe, VA 24350, USA - panoramio (1)2011Ivanhoe, VA 24350, USA - panoramio (1)Ivanhoe Pentacostal Holiness Church2011Ivanhoe Pentacostal Holiness ChurchChurch of God of Prophecy2011Church of God of Prophecy
On the map

Ivanhoe on the map, 1930 to 1979

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

Ivanhoe on the 1930 USGS mapIvanhoe on the 1965 USGS mapIvanhoe on the 1979 USGS map1930Max Meadows 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 Ivanhoe.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Ivanhoe

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

See all →
D
David HuddleFiction writer, poet, essayist · b. 1942
Robert SheffeyAmerican Methodist clergy · b. 1820
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Ivanhoe’s post office has been open since 1890. Another post office, Ivanhoe Furnace, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Ivanhoe Furnace
1884–1890
Ivanhoe
1890–today
18801950today
Gone or out of use
Ivanhoe Shaftmine
1cemetery inside Ivanhoe
Independent Order of Odd Fellows

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

Questions about Ivanhoe’s history

What year was Ivanhoe founded?

The Ivanhoe post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (18), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.