Most of Riner was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2003. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 23 buildings. Below: maps from 1932 on.
The Riner post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Auburn (1871), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 949144 years
How historic is Riner?
C
More historic than 35% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Riner post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Riner’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Riner is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Riner’s overall grade.
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 Riner’s 241 sits above most of its state (81% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 25 historic buildings outnumber those of 81% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.6 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 Riner’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
The story so far
Riner, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Riner yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Riner is a census-designated place in Montgomery County, Virginia, United States. The population as of the 2020 Census was 1,196. Riner had its beginnings in 1808 when a sawmill was put into operation. The town was first called Old Forks, and then later Five Forks and Five Points. It was known primarily as Auburn from about 1850 until 1882. The U.S. post office was the reason that the name of the village was changed from Auburn to Riner in 1882. Between the establishment of the original U.S. Post office in the community in the 1871-73 congressional session and 1882 there was no postmaster in the town, and the mail was distributed at the local store by the proprietor Major Lawrence. The citi…
Its first post office opened in 1882. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 859 to 949 (+10%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Riner, 1871 to 1932
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Riner’s post office has been open since 1882. Another post office, Auburn, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Auburn
1871–1873
Riner
1882–today
18701950today
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Riner’s history
What year was Riner founded?
The Riner post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Riner rank for history?
Riner is more historic than 35% 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.
What is on the National Register in Riner?
Two places: the Howard-Bell-Feather House (listed 1989) and the Riner Historic District (1991).
How old are the homes in Riner?
0.0% of Riner’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.6 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 2003.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (2), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
