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DHistory
History · Lorton

Lorton’s post office opened in 1910, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 13% of U.S. towns · #177 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it

Most of Lorton was built recently: 0.4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1997. Its Register listings are the Pohick Church and the Fairfax Arms. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1913 on, and the census since 2000.

1910first post office
2on the National Register
0.4%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Lorton’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Lorton began

When was Lorton founded?

1910

The Lorton post office opened in 1910, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Colchester (1782), Pohick Church (1817) and Lorton Valley (1875), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 17,786 in 20002020 census: 20,072116 years

How historic is Lorton?

D

More historic than 13% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Lorton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Lorton’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lorton is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns, #177 of 253 in Virginia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lorton’s overall grade.
Founding era1910, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19400.4% of homes (±0.7) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register2 listings, 1.0 per 10,000 residents · typical VA town 3.6 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 13%
NewerOlder
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 30%

Virginia towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Virginia town has 3.6 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Lorton’s 1.0 sits near the middle of its state (40% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to C−. The pre-1940 share (±0.7 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Lorton’s past

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

Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Lorton, and 3 old place names are still on the map.A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers, 1861–1993.On the map since 19137 editions of the USGS map, 1913 to 1980. Watch Lorton change.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Lorton’s post office has been open since 1910. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Colchester
1782–1815
Pohick Church
1817–1821
Lorton Valley
1875–1910
Lorton
1910–today
17801900today
Hamlets and corners on the map
ColchesterPohickPohick Estates
Gone or out of use
Lorton Valley SchoolschoolOccoquan Churchchurch
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Lorton
Cranford United Methodist ChurchPohick Episcopal ChurchRemey TombRemey Tomb

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

By decade

Lorton, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s1 item
Pohick Church1861Pohick Church
1900s5 items
Old Pohick Church built in 17731900Old Pohick Church built in 1773Old Pohick Church built in 17731900Old Pohick Church built in 1773Old Pohick Church built in 17731900Old Pohick Church built in 1773Old Pohick Church built in 17731900Old Pohick Church built in 1773George Washington Church1909George Washington Church
1920s5 items
Fredricksburg tour, Pohick church1920Fredricksburg tour, Pohick churchFredricksburg tour, Brompton on Mary [...] HTS1920Fredricksburg tour, Brompton on Mary [...] HTSPohick Church, (Virginia)1921Pohick Church, (Virginia)Pohick church1922Pohick churchOld Pohick Church built in 17731929Old Pohick Church built in 1773
1930s–1980snothing 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
1990s1 item
Auto Train leaving Lorton, October 19931993Auto Train leaving Lorton, October 1993
Today12 recent
Interstate 95 - Virginia2012Interstate 95 - VirginiaSnow Strom in2010Snow Strom inLorton Road Arch Bridge2010Lorton Road Arch BridgeInterstate 95 - Virginia2009Interstate 95 - VirginiaInterstate 95 - Virginia2009Interstate 95 - VirginiaInterstate 95 - Virginia2009Interstate 95 - VirginiaInterstate 95 - Virginia2009Interstate 95 - VirginiaInterstate 95 - Virginia2009Interstate 95 - VirginiaInterstate 95 - Virginia2009Interstate 95 - VirginiaInterstate 95 - Virginia2009Interstate 95 - VirginiaHouses in2009Houses inHouses in Lorton (2)2009Houses in Lorton (2)
On the map

Lorton on the map, 1913 to 1980

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

Lorton on the 1913 USGS mapLorton on the 1925 USGS mapLorton on the 1948 USGS mapLorton on the 1951 USGS mapLorton on the 1965 USGS mapLorton on the 1971 USGS mapLorton on the 1980 USGS map1913Indian Head 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 Lorton.

The story

How Lorton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lorton.

Read it all →

Lorton is named for a village in the Lake District National Park, Cumbria, in England. Joseph Plaskett of the Cumbrian village settled in southern Fairfax County, running a general store and opening the Lorton Valley Post Office on November 11, 1875.

Before the identity of Lorton, the commercial center was Colchester, and the spiritual and historical center of the community around which the leading citizens of the time revolved was Pohick Church, where George Washington and George Mason were at times members of the vestry.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Lorton, 1782 to 1997

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1782Post officeThe Colchester post office opens
  3. 19th century
  4. 1815Post officeThe Colchester post office closes
  5. 1817Post officeThe Pohick Church post office opens
  6. 1821Post officeThe Pohick Church post office closes
  7. 1861In the archivePohick Church
  8. 1875Post officeThe Lorton Valley post office opens
  9. 20th century
  10. 1900In the archiveOld Pohick Church built in 1773
  11. 1910Post officeThe Lorton Valley post office closes
  12. 1913On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  13. 1920In the archiveFredricksburg tour, Pohick church
  14. 1993In the archiveAuto Train leaving Lorton, October 1993
  15. 1997Born hereTrevor Stewart is born here
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.

Pohick Church
Retake this viewPohick Church, 1861

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Lorton

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1969
Pohick Church
Pohick ChurchFairfax Arms
Buildings
Pohick ChurchBuilding
Fairfax ArmsBuilding

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

People over time

Lorton, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00020002020Peak: 20,072

Between 17,786 and 20,072 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Help out

Finish Lorton’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPohick Church: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

NewingtonIts storyDLaurel Hill1 historic placeBMason Neck2 historic placesC

Questions about Lorton’s history

What year was Lorton founded?

The Lorton post office opened in 1910, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Lorton rank for history?

Lorton is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns, #177 of 253 in Virginia. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Lorton?

Two places: the Pohick Church (listed 1969) and the Fairfax Arms (1979).

How old are the homes in Lorton?

0.4% of Lorton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1997.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (15), the Library of Congress (9), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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.