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History · Locust Grove

42% of Locust Grove’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1947 on.

0on the National Register
42%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Locust Grove’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 Locust Grove are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Locust Grove’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Locust Grove came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Locust Grove.

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Established by Lieutenant Governor Alexander Spotswood in 1714 as a German settlement, the area was considered the westernmost frontier (the wilderness) of Virginia. Spotswood built a home on a portion of the Rapidan River he referred to as Porto Bella (Lovely Harbor). The home was later nicknamed in 1732 by the founder of the city of Richmond, William Byrd II, as Spotwood's "Enchanted Castle". Spotswood died in 1740 and shortly thereafter residents of the area burned the original structure to salvage building materials for their own homes.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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On the map

Locust Grove on the map, 1947 to 1994

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

Locust Grove on the 1947 USGS mapLocust Grove on the 1950 USGS mapLocust Grove on the 1966 USGS mapLocust Grove on the 1978 USGS mapLocust Grove on the 1994 USGS map1947Strasburg 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 Locust Grove.

Famous people

Famous people close to Locust Grove

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

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J
Jack GilpinAmerican actor · b. 1951
R
Robert AllenAmerican politician · b. 1794
W
W. K. StrattonAmerican actor · b. 1950
B
Barnett McFee ClinedinstAmerican photographer, served as White House ph… · b. 1862
H
Herbert BarbeeAmerican artist · b. 1848
D
Dana AllisonProfessional baseball player · b. 1966

Questions about Locust Grove’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

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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 Wikipedia and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.