The new town of Linville was announced in the January 24, 1867 edition of the Rockingham Register by G.W. Berlin:The Land is good, and the place is located in the charming valley of Linvill's Creek, and for that reason the new town is called
which will be a depot on the Manassas Gap Railroad, file miles North of Harrisonburg. Berlin also noted three "large never-failing Springs of water in the town" and characterized it as a "rich, beautiful, healthy, populous and productive region of the Valley of Virginia", inviting prospective inhabitants to see a plat in his office in Harrisonburg.
The town of Broadway, at the junction of Linville Creek with the North Shenandoah River, and at the mouth of Brock's Gap, occupies a strategic point for trade. The beginnings of settlement and industry were probably made on the point of land between the creek and the river, at or near the Winfield residence. As early as 1808 the Custers had a mill there, and they were probably at the same time operating the store that for many years was kept in the old stone
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In October, 1873, William Ralston died near Linville Depot, aged about 50, It was said that he had been in the Mexican War, as well as in the Civil War. He was known as "Soldier Bill."
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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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
