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History · Keysville

Keysville’s post office opened in 1816, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 205 buildings. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1958 on, and the census since 1880.

1816first post office
2on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Keysville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Keysville began

When was Keysville founded?

1816

The Keysville post office opened in 1816, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 115 in 18802020 census: 807210 years
Founding year: the first Keysville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Keysville’s past

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

A historic districtThe Keysville Historic District takes in 205 historic buildings.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1890 and 1900, then grew 9-fold.A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers.Deep rootsA post office since 1816: 210 years of Keysville.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

2 listings protect 206 historic buildings

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
206
each building in a district counts
first listed
2008
Keysville Railroad Station
Keysville Railroad StationKeysville Historic District
BuildingsDistricts
Keysville Railroad StationBuilding
All 2 listings
Keysville Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2023

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

People over time

Keysville, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020126 in 1890Low: 82

Lost a third of its people between 1890 and 1900, then grew 9-fold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

By decade

Keysville, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s12 items
Pomp & Circumstance Outdoor graduation exercises for 123 high school students in Keysville, Virginia. June 19431943Pomp & Circumstance Outdoor graduation exercises for …Small Town, Summer, A street scene in Keysville, Virginia, June 1943. - Flickr - polkbritton1943Small Town, Summer, A street scene in Keysville, Virg…Keysville, Virginia1943Keysville, VirginiaKeysville, Virginia1943Keysville, VirginiaKeysville, Virginia1943Keysville, VirginiaKeysville, Virginia. Randolph Henry High School. Plaque1943Keysville, Virginia. Randolph Henry High School. Plaq…Keysville, Virginia. Randolph Henry High School. Stairway1943Keysville, Virginia. Randolph Henry High School. Stai…Keysville, Virginia. Randolph Henry High School. Virginia Walker, Latin teacher1943Keysville, Virginia. Randolph Henry High School. Virg…Keysville, Virginia. Randolph Henry High School. Girl's locker1943Keysville, Virginia. Randolph Henry High School. Girl…Keysville, Virginia. Randolph Henry High School. A student1943Keysville, Virginia. Randolph Henry High School. A st…Keysville, Virginia. Randolph Henry High School. Lavatory facilities1943Keysville, Virginia. Randolph Henry High School. Lava…Keysville, Virginia. Randolph Henry High School. Lavatory facilities1943Keysville, Virginia. Randolph Henry High School. Lava…
1950s–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
The story so far

Keysville, in brief

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

Keysville is a town in Charlotte County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 census, Keysville had a population of 807. One of two branches of Southside Virginia Community College is in Keysville. The surrounding area has tobacco and mixed farming.

Its first post office opened in 1816. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 832 to 807 (-3%).

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

Timeline

Keysville, 1816 to 2010

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1816Post officeThe Keysville post office opens
  3. 1858Born hereA. Leo Weil is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1909Born hereFrances Farmer is born here
  6. 1943In the archivePomp & Circumstance Outdoor graduation exercises for 123 high school students in Keysvill…
  7. 1958On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 21st century
  9. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 832
On the map

Keysville on the map, 1958 to 1987

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

Keysville on the 1958 USGS mapKeysville on the 1968 USGS mapKeysville on the 1987 USGS map1958Keysville 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 Keysville.

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.

Pomp & Circumstance Outdoor graduation exercises for 123 high school students in Keysville, Virginia. June 1943
Retake this viewPomp & Circumstance Outdoor graduation exercises for 123 high school students in Keysville, Virginia. June 1943, 1943

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Keysville

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

See all →
A. Leo WeilAmerican lawyer · b. 1858
F
Frances FarmerLaw librarian and professor · b. 1909
Help out

Finish Keysville’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.
Retake an old viewPomp & Circumstance Outdoor graduation …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Keysville’s history

What year was Keysville founded?

The Keysville post office opened in 1816, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Keysville?

Two places: the Keysville Railroad Station (listed 2008) and the Keysville Historic District (2023).

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 (2), the Library of Congress (10), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.