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Road scene at MendotaPhoto: Nyttend · Public domain
–Not graded
History · Mendota

Mendota’s post office opened in 1857, and 64% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1935 on.

1857first post office
0on the National Register
64%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Nyttend · Public domain
Quick answers

How Mendota began

When was Mendota founded?

1857

The Mendota post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Kinderhook (1846) and Mandota (1873), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 135169 years
Founding year: the first Mendota post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Mendota’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 Mendota are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Mendota’s homes were built before 1938.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Mendota.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Mendota’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Mendota’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 so far

Mendota, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Mendota yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Mendota is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Washington County in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Virginia, at an elevation of approximately 1411 feet. It was first listed as a CDP in the 2020 census with a population of 135. The name Mendota is derived from a Native American word meaning "bend in the river". The village is located on the north fork of the Holston River. It is part of the Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA Combined Statistical Area – commonly known as the "Tri-Cities" region.

Its first post office opened in 1857.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Mendota’s post office has been open since 1857. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Kinderhook
1846–1857
Mendota
1857–today
Mandota
1873–1888
18401930today

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

Timeline

Mendota, 1846 to 1935

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1846Post officeThe Kinderhook post office opens
  3. 1857Post officeThe Kinderhook post office closes
  4. 1857Post officeThe Mendota post office opens
  5. 1873Post officeThe Mandota post office opens
  6. 1888Post officeThe Mandota post office closes
  7. 20th century
  8. 1935On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the map

Mendota on the map, 1935 to 1968

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

Mendota on the 1935 USGS mapMendota on the 1968 USGS map1935Mendota sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Mendota.

Famous people

Famous people close to Mendota

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

See all →
Jayma MaysAmerican actress · b. 1979
Tennessee Ernie FordAmerican recording artist and television host n… · b. 1919
Scott CooperAmerican actor, screenwriter, director, and pro… · b. 1970
Jeremy Ray TaylorAmerican actor · b. 2003
Maybelle CarterAmerican country musician · b. 1909
O
Ollan CassellAmerican sprinter · b. 1936

Questions about Mendota’s history

What year was Mendota founded?

The Mendota post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From 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.