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B−History
History · Sandston

Sandston’s post office opened in 1925, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 47% of U.S. towns · #93 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it

Most of Sandston was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1970. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 586 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1950.

1925first post office
2on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Sandston’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Sandston began

When was Sandston founded?

1925

The Sandston post office opened in 1925, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Seven Pines (1867), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 3,902 in 19502020 census: 7,779101 years

How historic is Sandston?

B−

More historic than 47% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Sandston post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Sandston’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sandston is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns, #93 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 Sandston’s overall grade.
Founding era1925, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19406.9% of homes (±3.0) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register2 listings, 589 historic buildings, 796 per 10,000 residents · typical VA town 3.6 · U.S. 2.4A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 47%
NewerOlder
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 63%

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 Sandston’s 796 sits above most of its state (95% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 589 historic buildings outnumber those of 98% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.0 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 Sandston’s past

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

A historic districtThe Sandston Historic District takes in 586 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Sandston, and 10 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 18947 editions of the USGS map, 1894 to 1994. Watch Sandston change.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

2 listings protect 589 historic buildings

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
589
each building in a district counts
first listed
1995
Seven Pines National Cemetery
Seven Pines National Cemetery, built 1866Sandston Historic District
DistrictsSites

Architectural styles listings

Late Victorian1
Second Empire1
Seven Pines National CemeteryLate Victorian · Built 1866
Sandston Historic DistrictDistrict

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

Help out

Start Sandston’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPanoramic view of Seven Pines Battlefie…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

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

Sandston’s post office has been open since 1925. Another post office, Seven Pines, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Seven Pines
1867–1901
Sandston
1925–today
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Fort LeeLee ParkLewis GardensPine HeightsSanburne ParkSandston HighlandSeven PinesVirginia HeightsWhite Oak SwampWoodlawn Terrace
Gone or out of use
Dry Bridge SchoolschoolRichmond Army Air Basemilitary
1cemetery inside Sandston
Seven Pines National

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

The story

How Sandston came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Sandston.

Read it all →

The Battle of Seven Pines took place nearby in 1862. It was second only to the Battle of Shiloh in its number of casualties up to that time. The battle was brutally fought and inconclusive, but had a profound impact on the trajectory of the war. After General Joseph E. Johnston's injury, President Jefferson Davis appointed Robert E. Lee as Commander of the Confederate Armies. Lee then initiated the Seven Days Battles, which drove the Northern forces into a retreat in late June. This was the closest the North had come to Richmond, Virginia in this offensive.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Sandston, 1866 to 1925

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1866BuiltSeven Pines National Cemetery is built
  3. 1867Post officeThe Seven Pines post office opens
  4. 1894On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1901Post officeThe Seven Pines post office closes
  7. 1912In the archivePanoramic view of Seven Pines Battlefield National Cemetery, Henrico County, Virginia (19…
  8. 1925Post officeThe Sandston post office opens
By decade

Sandston, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
Panoramic view of Seven Pines Battlefield National Cemetery, Henrico County, Virginia (1912)1912Panoramic view of Seven Pines Battlefield National Ce…
1920s–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
Today11 recent
Sandston Pharmacy Front2008Sandston Pharmacy FrontSandston Pharmacy & Grill2008Sandston Pharmacy & GrillSandston Hair2008Sandston HairSandston Cleaners- Exciting Downtown2008Sandston Cleaners- Exciting DowntownSalon Dejon2008Salon DejonPiedmont Taxidermy2008Piedmont TaxidermyGlass Lettering2008Glass LetteringFarm Bureau of Virginia2008Farm Bureau of VirginiaDo Not Block "Driveway"2008Do Not Block "Driveway"Bankruptcies2008BankruptciesIn a patriotic show of support, students and teachers from Byrd Elementary School, in Sandston, Virginia, stand outside…2001In a patriotic show of support, students and teachers…
On the map

Sandston on the map, 1894 to 1994

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

Sandston on the 1894 USGS mapSandston on the 1934 USGS mapSandston on the 1956 USGS mapSandston on the 1964 USGS mapSandston on the 1974 USGS mapSandston on the 1981 USGS mapSandston on the 1994 USGS map1894Richmond 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 Sandston.

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.

Panoramic view of Seven Pines Battlefield National Cemetery, Henrico County, Virginia (1912)
Retake this viewPanoramic view of Seven Pines Battlefield National Cemetery, Henrico County, Virginia (1912), 1912

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Sandston, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,0001960198020002020Peak: 7,779

Between 3,902 and 7,779 people in every census since 1950.

3 censuses, 1950–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Sandston

Nobody well known was born in Sandston itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Shirley MacLaineAmerican actress · b. 1934
Warren BeattyAmerican actor and filmmaker · b. 1937
Arthur AsheAmerican tennis player · b. 1943
Jason MrazAmerican singer-songwriter · b. 1977
Tom WolfeAmerican author and journalist · b. 1930
V
Vince GilliganAmerican writer, producer, and director · b. 1967
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Montrose1 historic placeC

Questions about Sandston’s history

What year was Sandston founded?

The Sandston post office opened in 1925, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Sandston rank for history?

Sandston is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns, #93 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 Sandston?

Two places: the Seven Pines National Cemetery (listed 1995) and the Sandston Historic District (2021).

How old are the homes in Sandston?

7% of Sandston’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.0 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1970.

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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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.