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B+History
History · Saltville

Saltville was first counted by the census in 1880, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 74% of U.S. towns. What drives it

3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 104 buildings. Below: maps from 1958 on and the census since 1880.

1880first census
3on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Saltville began

When was Saltville founded?

1880

Saltville first appears in the census in 1880.

First census: 185 in 18802020 census: 1,824146 years

How historic is Saltville?

B+

More historic than 74% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Saltville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Saltville is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Saltville’s overall grade.
Founding era1880, from the first census: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194018.0% of homes (±6.3) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register3 listings, 106 historic buildings, 482 per 10,000 residents · typical VA town 3.6 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 74%
NewerOlder

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 Saltville’s 482 sits above most of its state (89% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 106 historic buildings outnumber those of 90% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.3 points).

Founding year: the first census (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 Saltville’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 Saltville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Saltville Historic District takes in 104 historic buildings.Boom and bustPeaked at 2,964 in 1930; 1,824 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Saltville’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Saltville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Saltville’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
On the National Register

3 listings protect 106 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
106
each building in a district counts
first listed
1976
Preston House
Preston HouseScott-Walker HouseSaltville Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Early Republican1
Hall-Parlor-plan1
Classical Revival1
Gothic Revival1
Colonial Revival1
Bungalow1
Preston HouseEarly Republican
Scott-Walker HouseHall-Parlor-plan
Saltville Historic DistrictClassical Revival

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

People over time

Saltville, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,964

Peaked at 2,964 in 1930; 1,824 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Saltville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Saltville.

Read it all →

Saltville was named for the salt marshes in the area. Prior to European settlement, these marshes attracted local wildlife. Excavations at the SV-2 archaeological site in the area have recovered several well preserved skeletons of now extinct species dating back to the last ice age. Indigenous peoples of varying cultures hunted at the marshes. The historic Native American people in the area were the Chisca.

Archaeologists in 1992 proposed the existence of a prehistoric "Saltville Complex Petty Chiefdom", with a paramount village located at the Northwood High School site, 44SM8. They reported "Saltville style gorgets" as well as iron and copper materials, scattered across the region.

ChaptersCivil WarAdditional historyMuck Dam collapse

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Saltville, 1898 to 1958

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1898Born hereRoby C. Thompson is born here
  3. 20th century
  4. 1919Born hereGeorgia Blizzard is born here
  5. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 2,964
  6. 1958On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Saltville, decade by decade

Today24 recent
Saltville Bus Tour2014Saltville Bus TourSaltville Bus Tour2014Saltville Bus TourSaltville Bus Tour2014Saltville Bus TourSaltville Bus Tour2014Saltville Bus TourSaltville Bus Tour2014Saltville Bus TourSaltville Bus Tour2014Saltville Bus TourSaltville Bus Tour2014Saltville Bus TourSaltville Bus Tour2014Saltville Bus TourSaltville Bus Tour2014Saltville Bus TourSaltville Bus Tour2014Saltville Bus TourSaltville Bus Tour2014Saltville Bus TourSaltville Bus Tour2014Saltville Bus TourSaltville Bus Tour2014Saltville Bus TourSaltville Bus Tour2014Saltville Bus TourSaltville Bus Tour2014Saltville Bus TourSaltville Bus Tour2014Saltville Bus TourSaltville Bus Tour2014Saltville Bus TourSaltville Bus Tour2014Saltville Bus TourSaltville Bus Tour2014Saltville Bus TourSaltville Bus Tour2014Saltville Bus TourSaltville Bus Tour2014Saltville Bus TourSaltville Bus Tour2014Saltville Bus TourSaltvilleVa2006SaltvilleVaVAMap-doton-Saltville2005VAMap-doton-Saltville
On the map

Saltville on the map, 1958 to 1978

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

Saltville on the 1958 USGS mapSaltville on the 1969 USGS mapSaltville on the 1978 USGS map1958Saltville sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Saltville.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Saltville

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

See all →
G
Georgia BlizzardArtist · b. 1919
R
Roby C. ThompsonAmerican judge · b. 1898
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Gone or out of use
Saltville High Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Saltville
Elizabeth

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Allison GapIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Saltville’s history

What year was Saltville founded?

The Saltville post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Saltville rank for history?

Saltville is more historic than 74% 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 Saltville?

Three places: the Preston House (listed 1976), the Scott-Walker House (1994) and the Saltville Historic District (2002).

How old are the homes in Saltville?

18% of Saltville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.3 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1964.

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 (24), 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) 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.