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History · Middlebrook

40% of Middlebrook’s homes were built before 1940

7 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 50 buildings. Below: maps from 1944 on.

7on the National Register
40%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Middlebrook’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 Middlebrook are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Middlebrook Historic District takes in 50 historic buildings.Old housesHalf of Middlebrook’s homes were built before 1949.Landmarks on the Register7 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Middlebrook’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Middlebrook’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

7 listings protect 73 historic buildings

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

places listed
7
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
73
each building in a district counts
first listed
1982
A. J. Miller House
Bethel GreenHenry Mish BarnMiddlebrook Historic DistrictMiddlebrook High SchoolMiddlebrook SchoolMaple Front Farm
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Vernacular3
Italianate2
Gothic Revival1
Victorian1
Commercial1
Ecclesiastical1
A. J. Miller HouseItalianate
Bethel GreenItalianate
Henry Mish BarnBuilding
Middlebrook Historic DistrictCommercial
Middlebrook High SchoolVernacular
Middlebrook SchoolColonial Revival
Maple Front FarmLate Victorian

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

The story

How Middlebrook came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Middlebrook.

Read it all →

The village of Middlebrook, founded in 1799 by Scots-Irish and German settlers, stretches along Middlebrook Road, which by 1851 was a stagecoach road and a main transport route to Staunton. By the end of the 19th century it was a thriving agricultural community, growing to significance within Augusta County. Railroad building in the region in the late 19th and early 20th century caused Middlebrook to fade in economic importance and cease growing. As a result, the buildings in Middlebrook today reflect an earlier era, a window of what a village looked like in late 19th century.

Middlebrook Historic District, Middlebrook Schools, A. J. Miller House, Henry Mish Barn and Maple Front Farm are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Middlebrook, 1800 to 1944

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1800Post officeThe Middlebrook post office opens
  3. 1856Post officeThe Summerdean post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1903Post officeThe Summerdean post office closes
  6. 1944On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Middlebrook, decade by decade

Today10 recent
DUTCH HOLLOW HANGER CEMETERY. MIDDLEBROOK AUGUSTA COUNTY. VA2026DUTCH HOLLOW HANGER CEMETERY. MIDDLEBROOK AUGUSTA COU…Walkers Creek Community Church2016Walkers Creek Community ChurchUS Post Office and Middlebrook Library2016US Post Office and Middlebrook LibraryMiddlebrook, Virginia2016Middlebrook, VirginiaMiddlebrook, Virginia - panoramio - Idawriter2016Middlebrook, Virginia - panoramio - IdawriterMiddlebrook General Store and Rosen's Garage2016Middlebrook General Store and Rosen's GarageAll Saints of North America Russian Orthodox Church2016All Saints of North America Russian Orthodox Church2016-05-27 17 57 13 View north along Virginia State Route 252 (Middlebrook Village Road) near Virginia State Secondary …20162016-05-27 17 57 13 View north along Virginia State R…2016-05-27 17 57 12 View north along Virginia State Route 252 (Middlebrook Village Road) near Virginia State Secondary …20162016-05-27 17 57 12 View north along Virginia State R…2016-05-27 17 30 39 View south along Virginia State Route 252 (Middlebrook Village Road) just north of the intersection…20162016-05-27 17 30 39 View south along Virginia State R…
On the map

Middlebrook on the map, 1944 to 1972

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

Middlebrook on the 1944 USGS mapMiddlebrook on the 1964 USGS mapMiddlebrook on the 1972 USGS map1944Staunton 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 Middlebrook.

Famous people

Famous people close to Middlebrook

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

See all →
Woodrow Wilson28th President of the United States · b. 1856
Francis CollinsAmerican geneticist and director of the Nationa… · b. 1950
Pat RobertsonAmerican media mogul and minister · b. 1930
C
Cy TwomblyAmerican painter, sculptor and photographer · b. 1928
Hilary HahnAmerican classical violinist · b. 1979
Kate SmithAmerican singer · b. 1907
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Middlebrook’s post office has been open since 1800. Another post office, Summerdean, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Middlebrook
1800–today
Summerdean
1856–1903
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Summerdean
Gone or out of use
Middlebrook High Schoolschool

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

Questions about Middlebrook’s history

What is on the National Register in Middlebrook?

7 listings: 6 buildings, among them the A. J. Miller House (listed 1982, the first), and 1 historic district, the Middlebrook Historic District, with 50 contributing buildings. 73 historic buildings in all.

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 Wikimedia Commons (10), the National Register of Historic Places (7), Wikipedia, 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.