Among the newest of U.S. towns · #229 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it
Most of Mantua was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1970. Below: maps from 1951 on and the census since 1990.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mantua is among the newest of U.S. towns, #229 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 Mantua’s overall grade.
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 Mantua’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (17% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±0.7 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: our sources. 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 Mantua’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
An oil distribution plant, located 2,000 feet (610 m) west of the community along Pickett Road in Fairfax City, was found in 1990 to have leaked approximately 200,000 gallons (approximately 4,700 barrels) of petroleum into 22 acres (0.089 km2) of the soil and groundwater of the Crook Branch watershed. At the time, the distribution plant was owned in part by a subsidiary of Texaco. The oil leakage may have occurred over up to twenty-five years, as the distribution plant had opened in April 1965. Four families were evacuated, and approximately 100 homes were connected to public water and sewer lines. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) directed the installation of a "pump-and-treat" groundwater remediation system, which was augmented in 2000 by digging of horizontal infiltration wells, intended to wash contaminated groundwater into the remediation system. Storm sewers in the ar…
Mantua is among the newest of U.S. towns, #229 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.
How old are the homes in Mantua?
0.0% of Mantua’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1970.
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 (6), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
2019
2010
2010
2010
2010
2005
