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History · New River

New River’s post office opened in 1941, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1950 on and old-book passages.

1941first post office
0on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How New River began

When was New River founded?

1941

The New River post office opened in 1941, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 23785 years
Founding year: the first New River post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about New River’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 New River are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start New River’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how New River’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

New River, in brief

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

New River is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pulaski County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 census, New River had a population of 237. A post office was established as New River Depot in 1868. The community took its name from the New River, upon which it is situated.

Its first post office opened in 1941. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 244 to 237 (-3%).

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about New River in 1906

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

Atlantic, Mississippi & Ohio Railroad had been foreclosed, and the road purchased by a Philadelphia syndicate, who changed the name to Norfolk & Western Railroad Company, which very shortly thereafter became the owner of the New River Railroad, Mining and Manufacturing Company's charter, and on the…
A history of middle New River settlements and contiguous territory1906 · page 351Read the page →
Read the text

Atlantic, Mississippi & Ohio Railroad had been foreclosed, and the road purchased by a Philadelphia syndicate, who changed the name to Norfolk & Western Railroad Company, which very shortly thereafter became the owner of the New River Railroad, Mining and Manufacturing Company's charter, and on the 3rd day of August, 1881, the Norfolk & Western Railroad Company commenced the construction of its New River Branch.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Peace having been restored along the frontier settlements, and no further danger being apprehended from the Indians, there was a great rush of the people, not only from Eastern Virginia and Western North Carolina on to the New River waters, and on to Kentuck}-, but there was a vast throng of people…
A history of middle New River settlements and contiguous territory1906 · page 116Read the page →
Read the text

Peace having been restored along the frontier settlements, and no further danger being apprehended from the Indians, there was a great rush of the people, not only from Eastern Virginia and Western North Carolina on to the New River waters, and on to Kentuck}-, but there was a vast throng of people from the New River Valley, that quickly penetrated the country between the New River settlements and the Ohio, and settled on the Sandy, Guyandotte and Coal River waters, even

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.

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.

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On the map

New River on the map, 1950 to 1998

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

New River on the 1950 USGS mapNew River on the 1965 USGS mapNew River on the 1970 USGS mapNew River on the 1984 USGS mapNew River on the 1998 USGS map1950Radford 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 New River.

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Fairlawn1 historic placeC

Questions about New River’s history

What year was New River founded?

The New River post office opened in 1941, 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 →
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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), 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.