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History · Ridgeway

Ridgeway’s post office opened in 1852, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Its Register listing is the Ingleside. Most of Ridgeway was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Below: maps from 1926 on and the census since 1890.

1852first post office
1on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Ridgeway began

When was Ridgeway founded?

1852

The Ridgeway post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 236 in 18902020 census: 752174 years
Founding year: the first Ridgeway post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Ridgeway’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Ridgeway are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ridgeway’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Ridgeway came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Ridgeway.

Read it all →

Approximately three miles south of Ridgeway in Henry County on U.S. Route 220 is a Virginia State historic marker noting the passing of the surveying party of William Byrd II, who moved through the area in 1728 on his expedition to survey the dividing line between Virginia and North Carolina.

Belleview and Ingleside are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Ridgeway, 1852 to 1962

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1852Post officeThe Ridgeway post office opens
  3. 1880BuiltIngleside is built
  4. 20th century
  5. 1926On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1962Born hereJeff Hensley is born here
By decade

Ridgeway, decade by decade

Today1 recent
2017-06-27 09 28 13 View south along U.S. Route 220 Business (Main Street) at Virginia State Route 87 (Morehead Avenue)…20172017-06-27 09 28 13 View south along U.S. Route 220 B…
On the map

Ridgeway on the map, 1926 to 1978

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

Ridgeway on the 1926 USGS mapRidgeway on the 1944 USGS mapRidgeway on the 1978 USGS map1926Martinsville 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 Ridgeway.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Ridgeway

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1999
Ingleside
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
Gothic Revival1
InglesideGreek Revival · Built 1880

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

People over time

Ridgeway, census by census

02004006008001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 858

Between 236 and 858 people in every census since 1890.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Questions about Ridgeway’s history

What year was Ridgeway founded?

The Ridgeway post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Ridgeway?

One place: the Ingleside (listed 1999).

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 (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.