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C−History
History · Raven

Raven’s post office opened in 1898

More historic than 17% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Raven was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1916 on, and the census since 1970.

1898first post office
0on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Raven’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Raven began

When was Raven founded?

1898

The Raven post office opened in 1898, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,819 in 19702020 census: 1,988128 years

How historic is Raven?

C−

More historic than 17% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Raven post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Raven’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Raven is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Raven’s overall grade.
Founding era1898, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19403.3% of homes (±4.9) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%C−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical VA town 3.6 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 17%
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 Raven’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (17% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.9 points). 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 Raven’s past

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

Boom and bustPeaked at 4,000 in 1980; 1,988 people lived here in 2020.A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers.On the map since 19166 editions of the USGS map, 1916 to 1978. Watch Raven change.
★ What stands out · People over time

Raven, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,000198020002020Peak: 4,000

Peaked at 4,000 in 1980; 1,988 people lived here in 2020.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

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

By decade

Raven, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s12 items
A miner's house by the dirty stream which is used for garbage and trash disposal. Raven Red Ash Coal Company, No. 2... …1946A miner's house by the dirty stream which is used for…Children of John Price, miner, play under their house. Raven Red Ash Coal Company, No. 2 Mine, Raven, Tazewell County, …1946Children of John Price, miner, play under their house…Children of miners playing by the railroad tracks which run a few yards from their front door. Raven Red Ash Coal... - …1946Children of miners playing by the railroad tracks whi…Daughter of Archie Isreal, miner, getting water. Raven Red Ash Coal Company, No. 2 Mine, Raven, Tazewell County, Virgin…1946Daughter of Archie Isreal, miner, getting water. Rave…Daughter of Archie Isreal, miner. Two adults and five children live in this three room house which rents for $5.25... -…1946Daughter of Archie Isreal, miner. Two adults and five…Daughter of Archie Isreal, miner. Two adults and five children live in this three room house which rents for $5.25... -…1946Daughter of Archie Isreal, miner. Two adults and five…House and privies. Raven Red Ash Coal Company, No. 2 Mine, Raven, Tazewell County, Virginia1946House and privies. Raven Red Ash Coal Company, No. 2 …Houses across the stream. The only access to these houses is up the stream bed, or up the railroad tracks. Raven Red...…1946Houses across the stream. The only access to these ho…Houses along the stream, the only access to these houses is up this stream bed, and up railroad track. Furniture... - N…1946Houses along the stream, the only access to these hou…Houses by the dirty stream which is used for disposal of trash and garbage. Raven Red Ash Coal Company, No. 2 Mine... -…1946Houses by the dirty stream which is used for disposal…Houses on a rainy morning. Raven Red Ash Coal Company, No. 2 Mine, Raven, Tazewell County, Virginia1946Houses on a rainy morning. Raven Red Ash Coal Company…James Wheeler, a miner, on his back porch which he screened at no expense to the company. Raven Red Ash Coal Company...…1946James Wheeler, a miner, on his back porch which he sc…
1950s–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
On the map

Raven on the map, 1916 to 1978

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

Raven on the 1916 USGS mapRaven on the 1935 USGS mapRaven on the 1947 USGS mapRaven on the 1950 USGS mapRaven on the 1968 USGS mapRaven on the 1978 USGS map1916Richlands 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 Raven.

The story so far

Raven, in brief

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

Raven is a census-designated place (CDP) in Russell and Tazewell counties in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, Raven had a population of 1,988.

Its first post office opened in 1898. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 2,270 to 1,988 (-12%).

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

Timeline

Raven, 1898 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1898Post officeThe Raven post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1907Post officeThe Red Ash post office opens
  5. 1916On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1946In the archiveA miner's house by the dirty stream which is used for garbage and trash disposal. Raven R…
  7. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 4,000
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.

A miner's house by the dirty stream which is used for garbage and trash disposal. Raven Red Ash Coal Company, No. 2... …
Retake this viewA miner's house by the dirty stream which is used for garbage and trash disposal. Raven Red Ash Coal Company, No. 2... …, 1946

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Raven

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

See all →
Bev PerdueAmerican politician and 73rd Governor of North … · b. 1947
Kathryn HarroldAmerican actress · b. 1950
Fred M. WilcoxAmerican film director · b. 1907
F
Fred AllisonAmerican physicist · b. 1882
George C. PeeryAmerican Democratic politician, and Governor of… · b. 1873
Heath MillerAll-American college football player, professio… · b. 1982
Places that used to be

Old corners and places now gone

Raven’s post office has been open since 1898.

Raven
1898–today
Red Ash
1907–today
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Red AshWest Raven
Gone or out of use
Hill City SchoolschoolMill Creek SchoolschoolRed Ash SchoolschoolRoad Ridge Schoolschool

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

Help out

Finish Raven’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 viewA miner's house by the dirty stream whi…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Richlands3 historic placesB+DoranIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Raven’s history

What year was Raven founded?

The Raven post office opened in 1898, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Raven rank for history?

Raven is more historic than 17% 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.

How old are the homes in Raven?

3% of Raven’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.9 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1977.

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 (12), 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.