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C−History
History · Reston

Reston dates to 1964, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 19% of U.S. towns · #164 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it

Most of Reston was built recently: 0.4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 86 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1915 on, and the census since 1970.

1964founded
2on the National Register
0.4%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
16famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Reston’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Reston began

When was Reston founded?

1964

Reston dates its founding to 1964 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1970.

First census: 5,722 in 19702020 census: 63,22662 years

How historic is Reston?

C−

More historic than 19% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1887.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Reston’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Reston is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns, #164 of 253 in Virginia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Reston’s overall grade.
Founding era1964, from Wikidata: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD−Homes built before 19400.4% of homes (±0.2) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register2 listings, 87 historic buildings, 13.5 per 10,000 residents · typical VA town 3.6 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 19%
NewerOlder
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 35%

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 Reston’s 13.5 sits near the middle of its state (58% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 87 historic buildings outnumber those of 89% 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 (±0.2 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1964.

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 Reston’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Lake Anne Village Center Historic District takes in 86 historic buildings.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Reston, and 3 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19157 editions of the USGS map, 1915 to 1994. Watch Reston change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Reston’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewApartments and a small lake in Reston, …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

2 listings protect 87 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
87
each building in a district counts
first listed
1999
Bowman, A. Smith, Distillery
Bowman, A. Smith, Distillery, built 1934Lake Anne Village Center Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Classical Revival1
Bowman, A. Smith, DistilleryClassical Revival · Built 1934
Lake Anne Village Center Historic DistrictDistrict

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Reston’s post office has been open since 1976. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Wiehle
1887–1923
Sunset Hills
1923–1954
Reston
1976–today
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
HattontownPinecrestSunset Hills
Gone or out of use
Carter Glass Librarybuilding
1cemetery inside Reston
Brown's Chapel Methodist

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

The story

How Reston came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Reston.

Read it all →

In the early days of Colonial America, the land that is present-day Reston was part of the Northern Neck Proprietary, a vast grant by King Charles II to Lord Thomas Fairfax that extended from the Potomac to the Rappahannock rivers. The property remained in the Fairfax family until they sold it in 1852.

Carl A. Wiehle and William Dunn bought 6,449 acres in northern Fairfax County along the Washington and Old Dominion (W&OD) Railroad line in 1886, later dividing the land between them, with Wiehle retaining the acreage north of the railroad line. Wiehle envisioned founding a town on the property, including a hotel, parks, and community center, but completed only a handful of homes before his death in 1901.

ChaptersColonial era19th century20th centuryEbola virus scare

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Reston, 1887 to 1998

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1887Post officeThe Wiehle post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1915On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1923Post officeThe Wiehle post office closes
  6. 1923Post officeThe Sunset Hills post office opens
  7. 1934BuiltBowman, A. Smith, Distillery is built
  8. 1954Post officeThe Sunset Hills post office closes
  9. 1964
    FoundingReston is established
  10. 1973Born hereBig Pooh is born here
  11. 1976Post officeThe Reston post office opens
  12. 1977Born hereEvan Helmuth is born here
  13. 1980In the archiveApartments and a small lake in Reston, Virginia, a planned development not far from Dulle…
  14. 1992Born hereChloe Angelides is born here
  15. 1996Born hereCarlyn Baldwin is born here
  16. 1998In the archiveCentreville High School (Virginia) 1998 · DD-SP-99-04111
By decade

Reston, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1980s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1980s–1990s2 items
Apartments and a small lake in Reston, Virginia, a planned development not far from Dulles International Airport1980Apartments and a small lake in Reston, Virginia, a pl…Centreville High School (Virginia) 1998 · DD-SP-99-041111998Centreville High School (Virginia) 1998 · DD-SP-99-04…
Today4 recent
Green Heron hiding2004Green Heron hidingFat Mike - Skinny Mike2004Fat Mike - Skinny MikeAutumn Foliage on Lake Thoreau2003Autumn Foliage on Lake Thoreau2019 Japanese Maple from C-Deck 6-22-0220022019 Japanese Maple from C-Deck 6-22-02
On the map

Reston on the map, 1915 to 1994

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

Reston on the 1915 USGS mapReston on the 1944 USGS mapReston on the 1951 USGS mapReston on the 1966 USGS mapReston on the 1971 USGS mapReston on the 1980 USGS mapReston on the 1994 USGS map1915Fairfax 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 Reston.

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.

Apartments and a small lake in Reston, Virginia, a planned development not far from Dulles International Airport
Retake this viewApartments and a small lake in Reston, Virginia, a planned development not far from Dulles International Airport, 1980

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Reston, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00045,00050,00055,00060,00065,00070,00019802000202063,226

Grew from 5,722 people in 1970 to 63,226 in 2020, more than tenfold.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

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

Famous people

16 famous people were born in Reston

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

See all →
C
Chloe AngelidesAmerican singer, songwriter and producer · b. 1992
B
Big PoohAmerican rapper from North Carolina · b. 1973
E
Evan HelmuthAmerican actor · b. 1977
C
Carlyn BaldwinAmerican soccer player · b. 1996
K
Karen ReyesAmerican–Salvadoran association football player · b. 1998
Karl MolineCartoonist · b. 1973
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Difficult Run1 historic placeC−Dranesville1 historic placeC+Wolf TrapIts storyD−Great Falls CrossingIts storyD−Herndon2 historic placesC+McNair1 historic placeC−Franklin FarmIts storyD−

Questions about Reston’s history

What year was Reston founded?

In 1964, according to Wikidata. Reston’s post office opened in 1887, and the census of 1970 counted 5,722 people here.

How does Reston rank for history?

Reston is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns, #164 of 253 in Virginia. 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 Reston?

Two places: the Bowman, A. Smith, Distillery (listed 1999) and the Lake Anne Village Center Historic District (2017).

How old are the homes in Reston?

0.4% of Reston’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1984.

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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.