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BHistory
History · Shawsville

Shawsville’s post office opened in 1850, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 64% of U.S. towns. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 13 buildings. Below: maps from 1965 on.

1850first post office
4on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Shawsville began

When was Shawsville founded?

1850

The Shawsville post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 1,241176 years

How historic is Shawsville?

B

More historic than 64% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Shawsville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Shawsville is more historic than 64% 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 Shawsville’s overall grade.
Founding era1850, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194014.6% of homes (±11.8) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register4 listings, 27 historic buildings, 191 per 10,000 residents · typical VA town 3.6 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 64%
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 Shawsville’s 191 sits above most of its state (78% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 27 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 C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±11.8 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 Shawsville’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 Shawsville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Shawsville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Shawsville’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

4 listings protect 27 historic buildings

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
27
each building in a district counts
first listed
1969
Fotheringay
FotheringayRife HouseShawsville Historic DistrictWalnut Grove Farm
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Late Victorian1
Queen Anne1
Center-Passage Plan1
Classical Revival1
Colonial Revival1
FotheringayBuilding
Rife HouseLate Victorian
Shawsville Historic DistrictCenter-Passage Plan
Walnut Grove FarmColonial Revival

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

The story

How Shawsville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Shawsville.

Read it all →

The town is near the site of Fort Vause, built in 1753 by Ephraim Vause, which was attacked and destroyed by Shawnee Indians on 25 June 1756, during the French and Indian War. An unknown number of people were killed and about 150 were taken prisoner at Fort Vause. A relief party led by Major Andrew Lewis arrived too late. The fort was rebuilt within months and inspected by General George Washington in October 1756 as part of his tour of frontier defenses.

The Rife House, Shawsville Historic District, and Walnut Grove Farm are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Shawsville, 1850 to 1965

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850Post officeThe Shawsville post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1961Born hereButch Taylor is born here
  5. 1965On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Shawsville, decade by decade

Today12 recent
White Creek Market in2016White Creek Market inShawsville, Virginia2016Shawsville, VirginiaEntering2016EnteringShawsville2014ShawsvilleShawsville Historic District2013Shawsville Historic DistrictRife House2013Rife HouseStyles Fall, Camp Alta Mons2012Styles Fall, Camp Alta MonsShawsville, VA2011Shawsville, VANS - Friendship Road2010NS - Friendship RoadClimbing the Grade2010Climbing the GradeShawsvilleVirginia2008ShawsvilleVirginiaVAMap-doton-Shawsville2005VAMap-doton-Shawsville
On the map

Shawsville on the map, 1965 to 1972

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

Shawsville on the 1965 USGS mapShawsville on the 1972 USGS map1965Ironto 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 Shawsville.

Questions about Shawsville’s history

What year was Shawsville founded?

The Shawsville post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Shawsville rank for history?

Shawsville is more historic than 64% 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 Shawsville?

4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Fotheringay (listed 1969, the first), and 1 historic district, the Shawsville Historic District, with 13 contributing buildings. 27 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Shawsville?

15% of Shawsville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±11.8 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1985.

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 (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.