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B+History
History · Richlands

Richlands dates to 1892, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 68% of U.S. towns · #60 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it

3 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 161 buildings between them. Below: 18 old photos and papers, maps from 1916 on, and the census since 1900.

1892founded
3on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
18old photos & papers
6famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Richlands’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Richlands began

When was Richlands founded?

1892

Richlands dates its founding to 1892 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 475 in 19002020 census: 5,261134 years

How historic is Richlands?

B+

More historic than 68% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1903.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Richlands’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Richlands is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #60 of 253 in Virginia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Richlands’ overall grade.
Founding era1892, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194013.6% of homes (±5.9) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register3 listings, 162 historic buildings, 313 per 10,000 residents · typical VA town 3.6 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 68%
NewerOlder
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 77%

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 Richlands’ 313 sits above most of its state (84% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 162 historic buildings outnumber those of 92% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1892.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.9 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 Richlands’ past

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

A historic districtThe Richlands Historic District takes in 91 historic buildings.A town in old photos18 old photos, postcards and papers, 1946–1974.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Richlands, and 4 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19166 editions of the USGS map, 1916 to 1978. Watch Richlands change.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

3 listings protect 162 historic buildings

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
162
each building in a district counts
first listed
1983
Williams House
Williams HouseRichlands Historic DistrictTazewell Avenue Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Late Victorian2
Colonial Revival2
American Movements2
Bungalow2
Craftsman2
Commercial2
Williams HouseBuilding
Richlands Historic DistrictLate Victorian
Tazewell Avenue Historic DistrictLate Victorian

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

By decade

Richlands, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1940s to the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s16 items
A. J. Buchanan who worked in the coal mines for over fifty years. Richlands, Tazewell County, Virginia1946A. J. Buchanan who worked in the coal mines for over …Babies in the nursery. Clinch Valley Clinic Hospital, Richlands, Tazewell County, Virginia1946Babies in the nursery. Clinch Valley Clinic Hospital,…Charlie Williams who works for the Pocahontas Corporation, at the Amonate Mine, received a fractured leg in a mine... -…1946Charlie Williams who works for the Pocahontas Corpora…Dominice Napoli who works for the Pando Coal Company, at the Rosan Mine, received a crushed ankle in a slate fall.... -…1946Dominice Napoli who works for the Pando Coal Company,…Dr. Tillou Henderson dressing a stump. John Beavers, a miner, working for the Pocahontas Corporation, at the Amonate...…1946Dr. Tillou Henderson dressing a stump. John Beavers, …John Looney who works for the Crystal Coal Company, in the Vansant mine was ruptured when he threw rocks across the... …1946John Looney who works for the Crystal Coal Company, i…Mr. Richard Earls visits his wife; he works for the Pocahontas Corporation, at the Amonate Mine. Richlands, Tazewell Co…1946Mr. Richard Earls visits his wife; he works for the P…Nurse at chart desk. Clinch Valley Clinic Hospital, Richlands, Tazewell County, Virginia1946Nurse at chart desk. Clinch Valley Clinic Hospital, R…One of the six-bed wards in the hospital; 75 percent of the patients are miners or their families. Richlands, Tazewell …1946One of the six-bed wards in the hospital; 75 percent …Operating room. Clinch Valley Clinic Hospital, Richlands, Tazewell County, Virginia1946Operating room. Clinch Valley Clinic Hospital, Richla…Paris Duty who works for the Pocahontas Corporation at the Amonate Mine, received a broken leg in mine coal car... - NA…1946Paris Duty who works for the Pocahontas Corporation a…Robert Lee Donley who works for the Pocahontas Corporation, at the Amonate Mine, lost a leg when he was crushed... - NA…1946Robert Lee Donley who works for the Pocahontas Corpor…Surgeon putting pin in broken hip of an old lady. Clinch Valley Clinic Hospital, Richlands, Tazewell County, Virginia1946Surgeon putting pin in broken hip of an old lady. Cli…The Clinch Valley Clinic Hospital opened in 1938, 75 percent of its patients are miners and their families.... - NARA -…1946The Clinch Valley Clinic Hospital opened in 1938, 75 …Wife and son of Conley Hoanker, a miner, who works for the Pocahontas Corporation, Mines 33-34, at Bishop, Virginia....…1946Wife and son of Conley Hoanker, a miner, who works fo…X-Ray room. Clinch Valley Clinch Hospital, Richlands, Tazewell County, Virginia1946X-Ray room. Clinch Valley Clinch Hospital, Richlands,…
1970s2 items
A MEMBER OF THE ISLAND CREEK COAL COMPANY TRAINING STAFF AT ITS FACILITIES NEAR RICHLANDS, VIRGINIA, C.E. BARNETTE IS..…1974A MEMBER OF THE ISLAND CREEK COAL COMPANY TRAINING ST…A MEMBER OF THE ISLAND CREEK COAL COMPANY TRAINING STAFF AT ITS FACILITIES NEAR RICHLANDS, VIRGINIA, C.E. BARNETTE... -…1974A MEMBER OF THE ISLAND CREEK COAL COMPANY TRAINING ST…
1980s–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
Places that used to be

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

Another post office, Hankins, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
BirminghamDalton AdditionDoranLake Park
Gone or out of use
Richlands Municipal Airportairport
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Richlands
Clinch Valley MemorialHankinsWilliam Vance

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

The story

How Richlands came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Richlands.

Read it all →

Located along the banks of the Clinch River, Richlands began as a farming community and was named for its fertile "rich lands."

The Clinch Valley Coal & Iron Company began to develop Richlands in 1890, and company officials hoped Richlands' readily available coal, iron, and timber might make it the "Pittsburgh of the South." The company abandoned its plans following the stock market crash of 1893.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Richlands in 1920

Passages that mention Richlands, cut from the printed page as they were published.

the Kentucky and Tazewell C. H. Turnpike, crossed the Dividing Ridge, and entered the Clinch Valley at the present village of Raven, in Tazewell County. He then moved up the Clinch, passing Richlands, and arrived at Cedar Bluff on the 30th of September. There he came in contact with a body of Confe…
History of Tazewell county and southwest Virginia, 1748-19201920 · page 628Read the page →
Read the text

the Kentucky and Tazewell C. H. Turnpike, crossed the Dividing Ridge, and entered the Clinch Valley at the present village of Raven, in Tazewell County. He then moved up the Clinch, passing Richlands, and arrived at Cedar Bluff on the 30th of September. There he came in contact with a body of Confederates, mostly Kentuckians, who were commanded by that splendid soldier, Colonel Giltner, of Kentucky. Burbridge pressed on from Cedar Bluff toward the Salt Works, marching through the Cove, crossing Clinch

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Richlands, 1892 to 1982

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1892
    FoundingRichlands is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1903Post officeThe Hankins post office opens
  5. 1911Post officeThe Hankins post office closes
  6. 1916On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1935Born hereJim Moody is born here
  8. 1946In the archiveA. J. Buchanan who worked in the coal mines for over fifty years. Richlands, Tazewell Cou…
  9. 1957Born hereMark Gibson is born here
  10. 1970Born hereMike Compton is born here
  11. 1974In the archiveA MEMBER OF THE ISLAND CREEK COAL COMPANY TRAINING STAFF AT ITS FACILITIES NEAR RICHLANDS…
  12. 1982Born hereHeath Miller is born here
On the map

Richlands on the map, 1916 to 1978

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

Richlands on the 1916 USGS mapRichlands on the 1935 USGS mapRichlands on the 1947 USGS mapRichlands on the 1950 USGS mapRichlands on the 1968 USGS mapRichlands 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 Richlands.

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. J. Buchanan who worked in the coal mines for over fifty years. Richlands, Tazewell County, Virginia
Retake this viewA. J. Buchanan who worked in the coal mines for over fifty years. Richlands, Tazewell County, Virginia, 1946

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Richlands, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,5001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 5,823

Between 475 and 5,823 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

6 famous people were born in Richlands

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

See all →
Heath MillerAll-American college football player, professio… · b. 1982
Jim MoodyAmerican politician · b. 1935
M
Mike ComptonAmerican football player and coach · b. 1970
M
Mark GibsonAmerican race car driver · b. 1957
L
L. W. WrightAmerican confidence trickster · b. 1949
J
John C. TysonAfrican-American librarian · b. 1951
Help out

Finish Richlands’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewA. J. Buchanan who worked in the coal m…: 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.

RavenIts storyC−DoranIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCedar Bluff2 historic placesA

Questions about Richlands’ history

What year was Richlands founded?

In 1892, according to Wikidata. Richlands’ post office opened in 1903, and the census of 1900 counted 475 people here.

How does Richlands rank for history?

Richlands is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #60 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 Richlands?

Three places: the Williams House (listed 1983), the Richlands Historic District (2007) and the Tazewell Avenue Historic District (2010).

How old are the homes in Richlands?

14% of Richlands’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.9 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1974.

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 (18), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.