Most of Nellysford was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1999. 4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 108 buildings. Below: maps from 1943 on.
The Nellysford post office opened in 1866, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Lodebar (1880), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,254160 years
How historic is Nellysford?
C+
More historic than 41% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Nellysford post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Nellysford’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Nellysford is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns. 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 Nellysford’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 Nellysford’s 764 sits above most of its state (95% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 121 historic buildings outnumber those of 90% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B+. The pre-1940 share (±1.6 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Nellysford’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
The story so far
Nellysford, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Nellysford yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Nellysford is a census-designated place (CDP) in Nelson County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 census, Nellysford had a population of 1,254. It is home to the Wintergreen golf course at Stoney Creek and its ZIP Code is 22958. Elk Hill and the Wintergreen Country Store are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Its first post office opened in 1866. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,076 to 1,254 (+17%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Nellysford, 1866 to 1943
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Nellysford post office opened in 1866, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Nellysford rank for history?
Nellysford is more historic than 41% 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.
What is on the National Register in Nellysford?
4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Wintergreen County Store (listed 2005, the first), and 1 historic district, the South Rockfish Valley Rural Historic District, with 108 contributing buildings. 121 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Nellysford?
0.0% of Nellysford’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.6 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1999.
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 Wikimedia Commons (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.
2013
