Massanetta Springs’ post office opened in 1887, and 3 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 40% of U.S. towns · #109 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it
Most of Massanetta Springs was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2003. 3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 32 buildings. Below: maps from 1941 on.
The Massanetta Springs post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Taylors Springs (1886), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 6,384139 years
How historic is Massanetta Springs?
C+
More historic than 40% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Massanetta Springs post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Massanetta Springs’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Massanetta Springs is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns, #109 of 253 in Virginia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Massanetta Springs’ 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 Massanetta Springs’ 58.2 sits above most of its state (67% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 37 historic buildings outnumber those of 83% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share (±1.5 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 Massanetta Springs’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
The story so far
Massanetta Springs, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Massanetta Springs yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Massanetta Springs is a census-designated place in Rockingham County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 census, Massanetta Springs had a population of 6,384.
Its first post office opened in 1887. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 4,833 to 6,384 (+32%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Massanetta Springs, 1886 to 1941
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Massanetta Springs. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1941Harrisonburg 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 Massanetta Springs.
Famous people
Famous people close to Massanetta Springs
Nobody well known was born in Massanetta Springs itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Massanetta Springs had its own post office from 1887 to 1902. Another post office, Taylors Springs, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Taylors Springs
1886–1890
Massanetta Springs
1887–1902
18801950today
Gone or out of use
Boltons MilllocaleMassanetta Springs Post Officepost office
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Massanetta Springs’ history
What year was Massanetta Springs founded?
The Massanetta Springs post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Massanetta Springs rank for history?
Massanetta Springs is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns, #109 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 Massanetta Springs?
Three places: the Kyle's Mill House (listed 2001), the Taylor Springs (2002) and the Massanetta Springs Historic District (2005).
How old are the homes in Massanetta Springs?
2% of Massanetta Springs’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.5 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 2003.
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 (3), the National Register of Historic Places (3), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
2019
2019
2016
