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History · Ivy

Ivy’s post office opened in 1950, and 4 of its places are on the National Register

Most of Ivy was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2000. Below: 3 old photos and papers and maps from 1931 on.

1950first post office
4on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Ivy’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Ivy began

When was Ivy founded?

1950

The Ivy post office opened in 1950, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Ivy Depot (1858), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 91776 years
Founding year: the first Ivy post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Ivy’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Ivy, and 4 old place names are still on the map.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ivy’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo3 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewSpring Hill Claim House, State Route 637: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Ivy’s post office has been open since 1950. Another post office, Ivy Depot, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Ivy Depot
1858–1950
Ivy
1950–today
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Lewis Hill EastLewis Hill WestLoch LeighMeriwether Hill
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Ivy
Mount CalvarySaint Paul's

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

On the National Register

4 historic places in Ivy

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
10
each building in a district counts
first listed
1983
D. S. Tavern
Spring Hill, built 1785Home TractBlue Ridge Swim Club
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Single-Pile1
Georgian1
Greek Revival1
D. S. TavernSingle-Pile
Spring HillBuilt 1785
Home TractGeorgian
Blue Ridge Swim ClubDistrict

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

The story

How Ivy came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Ivy.

Read it all →

Ivy Creek flows through this area of western Albemarle County. It was cited in deeds for land in the Ivy area as early as the 1750s. The village at the present location of Ivy was known as Woodville (for the locally prominent Wood family) between 1826 and 1851. After the arrival of the railroad in 1851, the rail stop at this location was known as Woodville Depot. By 1859, the name had changed to Ivy Depot, probably after Ivy Creek. The village's name was shortened to Ivy in the 1950s.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Ivy, 1774 to 1988

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1774Born hereMeriwether Lewis is born here
  3. 1785BuiltSpring Hill is built
  4. 19th century
  5. 1858Post officeThe Ivy Depot post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1931On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1933Born hereJoe Hicks is born here
  9. 1950Post officeThe Ivy Depot post office closes
  10. 1950Post officeThe Ivy post office opens
  11. 1988Born hereKyle Long is born here
By decade

Ivy, decade by decade

Date unknown3 to date
Spring Hill Claim House, State Route 637Date?Spring Hill Claim House, State Route 637Woodstock Hall, 4045 State Route 637 (Dick Woods Road)Date?Woodstock Hall, 4045 State Route 637 (Dick Woods Road)Woodstock Hall, Kitchen, 4045 State Route 637 (Dick Woods Road)Date?Woodstock Hall, Kitchen, 4045 State Route 637 (Dick W…
Today3 recent
All Saints Anglican Church2024All Saints Anglican Church2019-06-06 14 34 54 View east along Interstate 64 at Exit 114 (Virginia State Route 637, Ivy) in20192019-06-06 14 34 54 View east along Interstate 64 at …2019-06-06 12 29 01 View west along Interstate 64 at Exit 114 (Virginia State Route 637, Ivy) in20192019-06-06 12 29 01 View west along Interstate 64 at …
On the map

Ivy on the map, 1931 to 1997

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

Ivy on the 1931 USGS mapIvy on the 1964 USGS mapIvy on the 1972 USGS mapIvy on the 1987 USGS mapIvy on the 1997 USGS map1931University 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 Ivy.

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.

Spring Hill Claim House, State Route 637
Retake this viewSpring Hill Claim House, State Route 637

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

3 famous people were born in Ivy

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

See all →
Meriwether LewisAmerican explorer · b. 1774
Kyle LongAmerican football player · b. 1988
Joe HicksAmerican baseball player · b. 1933

Questions about Ivy’s history

What year was Ivy founded?

The Ivy post office opened in 1950, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Ivy?

4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the D. S. Tavern (listed 1983, the first), and 1 historic district, the Blue Ridge Swim Club,. 10 historic buildings in all.

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 (3), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.