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A−History
History · Occoquan

Occoquan dates to 1765, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 84% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Occoquan was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1989. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 60 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1927 on, and the census since 1860.

1765founded
2on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Occoquan’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Occoquan began

When was Occoquan founded?

1765

Occoquan dates its founding to 1765 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1860.

First census: 273 in 18602020 census: 1,035261 years

How historic is Occoquan?

A−

More historic than 84% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1808.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Occoquan’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Occoquan is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Occoquan’s overall grade.
Founding era1765, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 19404.5% of homes (±4.2) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register2 listings, 61 historic buildings, 670 per 10,000 residents · typical VA town 3.6 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 84%
NewerOlder

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 Occoquan’s 670 sits above most of its state (93% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 61 historic buildings outnumber those of 86% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1765.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.2 points).

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Occoquan’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.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1970 and 1980, then grew 4-fold.A historic districtThe Occoquan Historic District takes in 60 historic buildings.Older than the countryEstablished in 1765, 11 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Occoquan’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBloody fight at Occoquan, Va: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Occoquan, census by census

02004006008001,000190019502000975 in 1970Low: 241

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1970 and 1980, then grew 4-fold.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

On the National Register

2 listings protect 61 historic buildings

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
61
each building in a district counts
first listed
1973
Rockledge
RockledgeOccoquan Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Georgian1
Vernacular1
American Four-Square1
Federal1
Commercial1
Cottage1
RockledgeGeorgian
Occoquan Historic DistrictVernacular

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

The story

How Occoquan came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Occoquan.

Read it all →

Occoquan is derived from an Algonquian Doeg Indian word, meaning "at the end of the water". Located on the Occoquan River, Occoquan was long a site of indigenous peoples' habitation. Like the British colonists after them, they relied on the river for transportation and trade, as well as fish. Early in the 1600s Capt. John Smith sailed and explored the Occoquan River. In 1608, when the first European reached Northern Virginia, the Tauxenent tribe (also known by the English as the "Dogues") had its main village at the mouth of the Occoquan River. This tribe was more closely associated with neighbors such as the Piscataways (located across the Potomac River in what is now Maryland) than the other Algonquian-speaking tribes to the south. The local chief was called a Tayac, who was subservient to an "emperor" located in Prince George's County.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Occoquan, 1765 to 2020

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1765
    FoundingOccoquan is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1808Post officeThe Occoquan post office opens
  5. 1862In the archiveBloody fight at Occoquan, Va
  6. 20th century
  7. 1927On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 21st century
  9. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 1,035
By decade

Occoquan, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1860s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s1 item
Bloody fight at Occoquan, Va1862Bloody fight at Occoquan, Va
Today5 recent
Occoquan, Virginia - Methodist Church sign2008Occoquan, Virginia - Methodist Church signOccoquan, Virginia - Ellicott's Mill sign2008Occoquan, Virginia - Ellicott's Mill signOdd Fellows Hall Marker2007Odd Fellows Hall Marker012 9A Rockledge Mansion built 17582007012 9A Rockledge Mansion built 1758VAMap-doton-Occoquan2005VAMap-doton-Occoquan
On the map

Occoquan on the map, 1927 to 1994

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

Occoquan on the 1927 USGS mapOccoquan on the 1948 USGS mapOccoquan on the 1951 USGS mapOccoquan on the 1966 USGS mapOccoquan on the 1971 USGS mapOccoquan on the 1984 USGS mapOccoquan on the 1994 USGS map1927Quantico 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 Occoquan.

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.

Bloody fight at Occoquan, Va
Retake this viewBloody fight at Occoquan, Va, 1862

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Occoquan

Nobody well known was born in Occoquan itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Henry Lee IIIAmerican politician, governor, and representati… · b. 1756
John L. PhillipsAmerican astronaut · b. 1951
William OefeleinAmerican astronaut · b. 1965
Haley WebbAmerican actress · b. 1985
Meyers LeonardAmerican basketball player · b. 1992
Ann E. DunwoodyU.S. Army, first four-star general in U.S. mili… · b. 1953
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Laurel Hill1 historic placeBLake RidgeIts storyD−

Questions about Occoquan’s history

What year was Occoquan founded?

In 1765, according to Wikidata. Occoquan’s post office opened in 1808, and the census of 1860 counted 273 people here.

How does Occoquan rank for history?

Occoquan is more historic than 84% 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 Occoquan?

Two places: the Rockledge (listed 1973) and the Occoquan Historic District (1983).

How old are the homes in Occoquan?

5% of Occoquan’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.2 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1989.

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 Wikimedia Commons (5), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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.