On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Rivanna is among the newest of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Rivanna’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 Rivanna’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 two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±1.4 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: our sources. 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 Rivanna’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Rivanna yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Rivanna is a census-designated place (CDP) in Albemarle County, Virginia, United States, just east of Shadwell. As of the 2020 census, Rivanna had a population of 2,174. It consists mainly of the Glenmore gated community.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,860 to 2,174 (+17%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Glenmore
1cemetery inside Rivanna
Magruder
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Rivanna’s history
How does Rivanna rank for history?
Rivanna is among the newest 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 Rivanna?
0.0% of Rivanna’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.4 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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.
