Most of Massanutten was built recently: 0.7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1996. Below: 1 old photo or paper from 1922 on and old-book passages.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Massanutten is more historic than 5% of U.S. towns. 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 Massanutten’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 Massanutten’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 (±1.0 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 Massanutten’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The Rockingham Springs Hotel was the first resort developed at Massanutten. In 1875, Gerald T. Hopkins, a farmer, created a health spa from the natural springs. A three-story hotel was built in the vicinity of the family hunting cabin (Hunters Cabin), which still stands at the present-day Hopkins Park, near the intersection of Lanier Lane and Massanutten Drive. When the popularity of health resorts declined, the hotel was closed in 1915.
Sidney Lanier, a well-known poet, visited Rockingham Springs before taking a teaching position in literature at Johns Hopkins University. Lanier Lane roughly follows the route to the site of Rockingham Springs.
Referring now to the railroads in Rockingham County, we shall take up first those that have actually been constructed, namely, (1) the one coming up the Valley on the west side of the Massanutten, and passing through Strasburg, Woodstock, Broadway, Harrisonburg, and Staunton; (2) the one coming up the Valley on the east side of the Massanutten, and passing through Shenandoah City, Elkton, Grottoes, and Basic City; (3) the one crossing the Valley from Elkton,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
Massanutten, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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.
Massanutten is more historic than 5% of U.S. towns. 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 Massanutten?
0.7% of Massanutten’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.0 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1996.
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 the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, 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.
1922
