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History · Port Royal

Port Royal dates to 1652, and 43% of its homes were built before 1940

4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 35 buildings. Below: 14 old photos and papers, maps from 1942 on, and the census since 1850.

1652founded
4on the National Register
43%homes built before 1940
14old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Port Royal’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Port Royal began

When was Port Royal founded?

1652

Port Royal dates its founding to 1652 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1850.

First census: 470 in 18502020 census: 196374 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1776.The full story ↓

What stands out about Port Royal’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Older than the countryEstablished in 1652, 124 years before the Declaration of Independence.A historic districtThe Port Royal Historic District takes in 35 historic buildings.A town in old photos14 old photos, postcards and papers, 1861–1927.Old housesHalf of Port Royal’s homes were built before 1955.
★ What stands out · Timeline

Port Royal, 1652 to 1942

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

  1. 17th century
  2. 1652
    FoundingPort Royal is established
  3. 18th century
  4. 1776Post officeThe Port Royal post office opens
  5. 19th century
  6. 1807Born hereJohn B. Magruder is born here
  7. 1849Born hereCharles U. Gravatt is born here
  8. 1859Born hereWilliam Loyall Gravatt is born here
  9. 1861In the archivePort Royal, Rappahannock River, Va
  10. 20th century
  11. 1927In the archivePort Royal house Port Royal Caroline County Virginia by Frances Benjamin Johnston
  12. 1942On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
On the National Register

4 listings protect 37 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
37
each building in a district counts
first listed
1970
Port Royal Historic District
Port Royal Historic DistrictRiverviewTownfield
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Vernacular1
Plantation1
Greek Revival1
Georgian1
Federal1
Port Royal Historic DistrictDistrict
Gay MontVernacular
RiverviewGreek Revival
TownfieldGeorgian

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

By decade

Port Royal, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s10 items
Port Royal, Rappahannock River, Va1861Port Royal, Rappahannock River, VaPort Royal, Rappahannock River, Va1861Port Royal, Rappahannock River, VaPort Royal, S.C. [i.e. Va.]1861Port Royal, S.C. [i.e. Va.]No. 65. Port Royal1862No. 65. Port RoyalPort Royal, Va. The Rappahannock River front during the evacuation LOC cwpb.018101864Port Royal, Va. The Rappahannock River front during t…Port Royal, Va. The Rappahannock River front during the evacuation LOC cwpb.018101864Port Royal, Va. The Rappahannock River front during t…Evacuation of Port Royal, Va., May 30, 18641864Evacuation of Port Royal, Va., May 30, 1864Port Royal, Va. The Rappahannock River front during the evacuation1864Port Royal, Va. The Rappahannock River front during t…Port Royal, Va. Transports being loaded from a pontoon bridge during the evacuation1864Port Royal, Va. Transports being loaded from a pontoo…The killing of Booth, the assassin - the dying murderer drawn from the barn where he head taken refuge, on Garrett's fa…1865The killing of Booth, the assassin - the dying murder…
1920s4 items
Port Royal house Port Royal Caroline County Virginia by Frances Benjamin Johnston1927Port Royal house Port Royal Caroline County Virginia …Port Royal house1927Port Royal housePort Royal house1927Port Royal housePort Royal house1927Port Royal house
1930s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today4 recent
Untitled photo2005Untitled photoNB US 301 @ Rappahannock River Bridge; Port Royal X-Roads, VA2005NB US 301 @ Rappahannock River Bridge; Port Royal X-R…NB US 301 near US 17 (VA); 2004-01-022004NB US 301 near US 17 (VA); 2004-01-02NB US 301 North of US 17; Port Royal X-Roads, VA2004NB US 301 North of US 17; Port Royal X-Roads, VA
The story

How Port Royal came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Port Royal.

Read it all →

Port Royal is one of the area's oldest colonial settlements. It was first established in 1652 by English colonists as a port at the head of sea-going navigation on the Rappahannock River. Waterways were the fastest and easiest method of transportation of people and property in the British colony of Virginia. It was an important point for export of tobacco, Virginia's cash crop.

Local tradition holds that Port Royal was named after the Roy family. Dorothy Roy and her husband John owned a warehouse chartered by the crown, a ferry service across the Rappahannock River to King George County, and a tavern. In the 21st century, the chimneys of the Roy house are preserved landmarks in the town.

Chapters17th century origins19th–20th centuries

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

On the map

Port Royal on the map, 1942 to 1964

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

Port Royal on the 1942 USGS mapPort Royal on the 1952 USGS mapPort Royal on the 1964 USGS map1942Port Royal sheet · 1:31,680

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

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.

Port Royal, Rappahannock River, Va
Retake this viewPort Royal, Rappahannock River, Va, 1861

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Port Royal, census by census

01002003004005001850190019502000Peak: 470

Between 123 and 470 people in every census since 1850.

18 censuses, 1850–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Port Royal

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

See all →
John B. MagruderConfederate Army general · b. 1807
Charles U. Gravattb. 1849
William Loyall GravattAmerican bishop · b. 1859
Places that used to be

Old corners

Port Royal’s post office has been open since 1776.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Port Royal Cross Roads

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

Help out

Finish Port Royal’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPort Royal, Rappahannock River, Va: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Port Royal’s history

What year was Port Royal founded?

In 1652, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Port Royal’s post office opened in 1776, and the census of 1850 counted 470 people here.

What is on the National Register in Port Royal?

4 listings: 3 buildings and 1 historic district, the Port Royal Historic District, with 35 contributing buildings. 37 historic buildings in all.

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 (9), the Library of Congress (9), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.