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History · Monterey

Monterey’s post office opened in 1847, and 70% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Monterey Hotel, the Monterey High School and the C.P. Jones House and Law Office. Its Register listings are the Monterey Hotel, the Monterey High School and the C.P. Jones House and Law Office. Below: maps from 1941 on and the census since 1880.

1847first post office
3on the National Register
70%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Monterey began

When was Monterey founded?

1847

The Monterey post office opened in 1847, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Highland (1847), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 154 in 18802020 census: 165179 years
Founding year: the first Monterey post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Monterey’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 Monterey are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Monterey’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 313 in 1920; 165 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsA post office since 1847: 179 years of Monterey.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Monterey’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Monterey’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

How Monterey came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Monterey.

Read it all →

The selection of Monterey as the county seat of Highland County in 1847 was associated with the blazing of the Staunton and Parkersburg Turnpike in 1838. The new town was named in commemoration of the Battle of Monterrey, Mexico (September 21–24, 1846) in which General (and future President) Zachary Taylor gained a key victory for the United States in the Mexican–American War (1846–1848).The Vietnam veteran Peter Kobele settled here after his term of service. Monterey is a Spanish word meaning "mountain of the king".

Monterey High School and Monterey Hotel are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Monterey, census by census

010020030018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 313

Peaked at 313 in 1920; 165 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Monterey’s Wikipedia page.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Monterey in 1911

Passages that mention Monterey, cut from the printed page as they were published.

The stores, shops, and offices of Monterey are in number and variety about what might be expected in a town of its size. The Methodist church was rebuilt about 1875 by the two wings of Episcopal Methodism. The Church South bought out the interest of the older body, and afterward built the present f…
A history of Highland County, Virginia1911Read the page →
Read the text

The stores, shops, and offices of Monterey are in number and variety about what might be expected in a town of its size. The Methodist church was rebuilt about 1875 by the two wings of Episcopal Methodism. The Church South bought out the interest of the older body, and afterward built the present fine structure. The Presbyterians have, during the writing of this book, completed a new and handsome edifice of their own. The high school is a modern building provided with an

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The Monterey Valley is so broken by minor ridges as to seem on a casual glance very narrow. North of its center a rather high cross ridge passes from Monterey Mountain to Jack Mountain, and on this water-parting lies the county seat.
A history of Highland County, Virginia1911 · page 12Read the page →
Read the text

The Monterey Valley is so broken by minor ridges as to seem on a casual glance very narrow. North of its center a rather high cross ridge passes from Monterey Mountain to Jack Mountain, and on this water-parting lies the county seat.

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.

Timeline

Monterey, 1847 to 1941

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1847Post officeThe Highland post office opens
  3. 1847Post officeThe Highland post office closes
  4. 1847Post officeThe Monterey post office opens
  5. 1896Born hereMarjorie Joyner is born here
  6. 20th century
  7. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 313
  8. 1941On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Monterey, decade by decade

Today18 recent
Monterey post office 244652017Monterey post office 24465Monterey High School, now Highland Center2017Monterey High School, now Highland Center2016-05-19 13 40 00 Panorama southeast down the Mountain Turnpike (U.S. Route 250) towards Monterey from the eastern sl…20162016-05-19 13 40 00 Panorama southeast down the Mount…2016-05-19 13 39 51 View southeast down the Mountain Turnpike (U.S. Route 250) towards Monterey from the eastern slopes…20162016-05-19 13 39 51 View southeast down the Mountain …2016-05-19 13 02 04 View west towards Monterey, Highland County, Virginia from the Highland Turnpike (U.S. Route 250) j…20162016-05-19 13 02 04 View west towards Monterey, Highl…Monterey, Virginia2014Monterey, VirginiaMonterey, Virginia2014Monterey, VirginiaMonterey, Virginia2014Monterey, VirginiaMonterey, Virginia2014Monterey, VirginiaMonterey, Virginia2014Monterey, VirginiaMonterey, Virginia (14223074361) (2)2014Monterey, Virginia (14223074361) (2)Monterey, Virginia (14203242686) (2)2014Monterey, Virginia (14203242686) (2)Monterey, Virginia2014Monterey, VirginiaMonterey, Virginia (14039803597) (2)2014Monterey, Virginia (14039803597) (2)Monterey, Virginia2014Monterey, VirginiaMonterey, Virginia2014Monterey, VirginiaBluegrass Valley2011Bluegrass ValleyMonterey, Virginia Street2007Monterey, Virginia Street
On the map

Monterey on the map, 1941 to 1999

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

Monterey on the 1941 USGS mapMonterey on the 1969 USGS mapMonterey on the 1999 USGS map1941Monterey 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 Monterey.

On the National Register

3 historic places in Monterey

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
7
each building in a district counts
first listed
1974
Monterey Hotel
Monterey HotelMonterey High SchoolC.P. Jones House and Law Office
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Eastlake1
Classical Revival1
Monterey HotelEastlake
Monterey High SchoolClassical Revival
C.P. Jones House and Law OfficeBuilding

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Monterey’s post office has been open since 1847. Another post office, Highland, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Highland
1847–1847
Monterey
1847–today
18401930today

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

Questions about Monterey’s history

What year was Monterey founded?

The Monterey post office opened in 1847, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Monterey?

Three places: the Monterey Hotel (listed 1974), the Monterey High School (2002) and the C.P. Jones House and Law Office (2013).

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 (18), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), 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.