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History · Nickelsville

Nickelsville’s post office opened in 1844, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Nickelsville was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Its Register listing is the Killgore Fort House. Below: maps from 1897 on and the census since 1920.

1844first post office
1on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Nickelsville began

When was Nickelsville founded?

1844

The Nickelsville post office opened in 1844, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 214 in 19202020 census: 378182 years
Founding year: the first Nickelsville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Nickelsville’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 Nickelsville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18974 editions of the USGS map, 1897 to 1981. Watch Nickelsville change.Deep rootsA post office since 1844: 182 years of Nickelsville.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Nickelsville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Nickelsville’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 map

Nickelsville on the map, 1897 to 1981

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

Nickelsville on the 1897 USGS mapNickelsville on the 1902 USGS mapNickelsville on the 1935 USGS mapNickelsville on the 1981 USGS map1897Bristol sheet · 1:125,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Nickelsville.

Timeline

Nickelsville, 1844 to 1936

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1844Post officeThe Nickelsville post office opens
  3. 1862Born hereMary Stallard Purnell is born here
  4. 1897On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1909Born hereMaybelle Carter is born here
  7. 1936Born hereOllan Cassell is born here
The story

How Nickelsville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Nickelsville.

Read it all →

Bush Mill and the Kilgore Fort House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Nickelsville, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Nickelsville, Virginia2012Nickelsville, VirginiaNickelsville, Virginia2012Nickelsville, VirginiaNickelsville, Virginia2012Nickelsville, Virginia
On the National Register

1 historic place in Nickelsville

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1972
Killgore Fort House
Buildings
All 1 listings
Killgore Fort HouseBuilding · listed 1972

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

People over time

Nickelsville, census by census

0100200300400500192019401960198020002020Peak: 464

Between 214 and 464 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Nickelsville

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

See all →
Maybelle CarterAmerican country musician · b. 1909
O
Ollan CassellAmerican sprinter · b. 1936
Mary Stallard PurnellAmerican religious leader and writer · b. 1862

Questions about Nickelsville’s history

What year was Nickelsville founded?

The Nickelsville post office opened in 1844, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Nickelsville?

One place: the Killgore Fort House (listed 1972).

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 (3), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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) 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.