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CHistory
History · Midlothian

Midlothian dates to 1850, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 31% of U.S. towns · #134 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it

Most of Midlothian was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2001. Its Register listing is the Pleasant View. Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1943 on.

1850founded
1on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
13famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Midlothian’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Midlothian began

When was Midlothian founded?

1850

Midlothian dates its founding to 1850 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1854.

2020 census: 18,320176 years

How historic is Midlothian?

C

More historic than 31% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1854.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Midlothian’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Midlothian is more historic than 31% of U.S. towns, #134 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 Midlothian’s overall grade.
Founding era1850, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19401.7% of homes (±1.4) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register1 listing, 7 historic buildings, 3.7 per 10,000 residents · typical VA town 3.6 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 31%
NewerOlder
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 47%

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 Midlothian’s 3.7 sits near the middle of its state (46% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 7 historic buildings outnumber those of 73% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. The pre-1940 share (±1.4 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1850.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Midlothian’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Famous sons and daughtersEdward Johnson, Bradford Burgess and 11 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Midlothian’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewBellona Arsenal, Workshops, Bellona Ars…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Famous people

13 famous people were born in Midlothian

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Edward JohnsonConfederate Army general · b. 1816
Bradford BurgessAmerican basketball player · b. 1990
Kameron SimmondsAmerican soccer player · b. 2003
N
Nick TaitagueAmerican soccer player · b. 1999
Connelly EarlyAmerican baseball player · b. 2002
D
Drew RomigAmerican soccer player · b. 1998
The story

How Midlothian came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Midlothian.

Read it all →

A prevalent story is that the name came from two brothers from East Lothian and West Lothian in Scotland who founded a village. For the name of the village they decided to name it after their respective homelands and a compromise was made, thus making the name of Midlothian.

ChaptersEtymologyEarly historyCoal miningEarly roads, first turnpike, and railroads20th century: village becomes surrounded by suburban developmentHistoric landmarksChesterfield Museum

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Midlothian, 1816 to 2003

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1816Born hereEdward Johnson is born here
  3. 1850
    FoundingMidlothian is established
  4. 1854Post officeThe Midlothian post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1943On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1990Born hereBradford Burgess is born here
  8. 1999Born hereNick Taitague is born here
  9. 21st century
  10. 2003Born hereKameron Simmonds is born here
By decade

Midlothian, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Bellona Arsenal, Workshops, Bellona Arsenal RoadDate?Bellona Arsenal, Workshops, Bellona Arsenal Road
On the map

Midlothian on the map, 1943 to 1994

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

Midlothian on the 1943 USGS mapMidlothian on the 1964 USGS mapMidlothian on the 1971 USGS mapMidlothian on the 1981 USGS mapMidlothian on the 1994 USGS map1943Midlothian 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 Midlothian.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Bellona Arsenal, Workshops, Bellona Arsenal Road
Retake this viewBellona Arsenal, Workshops, Bellona Arsenal Road

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Midlothian’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Midlothian

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
7
each building in a district counts
first listed
1975
Pleasant View
Pleasant View
Buildings
Pleasant ViewBuilding

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

BrandermillIts storyD−

Questions about Midlothian’s history

What year was Midlothian founded?

In 1850, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Midlothian’s post office opened in 1854.

How does Midlothian rank for history?

Midlothian is more historic than 31% of U.S. towns, #134 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 Midlothian?

One place: the Pleasant View (listed 1975).

How old are the homes in Midlothian?

2% of Midlothian’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.4 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 2001.

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).

From the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.