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CHistory
History · Short Pump

Short Pump’s post office opened in 1819

More historic than 26% of U.S. towns · #143 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it

Most of Short Pump was built recently: 0.3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1999. Below: 15 old photos and papers and maps from 1936 on.

1819first post office
0on the National Register
0.3%homes built before 1940
15old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Short Pump’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Short Pump began

When was Short Pump founded?

1819

The Short Pump post office opened in 1819, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 30,626207 years

How historic is Short Pump?

C

More historic than 26% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Short Pump’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Short Pump is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns, #143 of 253 in Virginia. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Short Pump’s overall grade.
Founding era1819, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19400.3% of homes (±0.3) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%DNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical VA town 3.6 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 26%
NewerOlder
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 44%

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 Short Pump’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 any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to C+. The pre-1940 share (±0.3 points) is firm at this size. 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 Short Pump’s past

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

A town in old photos15 old photos, postcards and papers.Deep rootsA post office since 1819: 207 years of Short Pump.
★ What stands out · By decade

Short Pump, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s15 items
6, Interior view, looking north. - Short Pump Shell Gas Station, 11441 West Broad Street19336, Interior view, looking north. - Short Pump Shell G…Detail of front (northwest) elevation door and windows, looking southeast. - Downtown Short Pump Grocery, West Broad St…1933Detail of front (northwest) elevation door and window…Front (north) elevation under porte cochere, looking south. - Short Pump Shell Gas Station, 11441 West Broad Street, Sh…1933Front (north) elevation under porte cochere, looking …Front (north) elevation, looking south. - Short Pump Shell Gas Station, 11441 West Broad Street1933Front (north) elevation, looking south. - Short Pump …Front elevation (northwest) looking southeast. - Downtown Short Pump Grocery, West Broad Street (State Route 250) and T…1933Front elevation (northwest) looking southeast. - Down…General view, looking west. - Short Pump Shell Gas Station, 11441 West Broad Street1933General view, looking west. - Short Pump Shell Gas St…Interior view, first floor, looking northeast. - Downtown Short Pump Grocery, West Broad Street (State Route 250) and T…1933Interior view, first floor, looking northeast. - Down…Interior view, first floor, looking northwest. - Downtown Short Pump Grocery, West Broad Street (State Route 250) and T…1933Interior view, first floor, looking northwest. - Down…Interior view, looking southeast. - Short Pump Shell Gas Station, 11441 West Broad Street1933Interior view, looking southeast. - Short Pump Shell …Interior view, second floor, looking southwest. - Downtown Short Pump Grocery, West Broad Street (State Route 250) and …1933Interior view, second floor, looking southwest. - Dow…Oblique view of front (north) and left side (east) elevations, looking southwest. - Short Pump Shell Gas Station, 11441…1933Oblique view of front (north) and left side (east) el…Oblique view of front (northwest) and left side (northeast) elevations, looking south. - Downtown Short Pump Grocery, W…1933Oblique view of front (northwest) and left side (nort…Oblique view of rear (south) and right side (west) elevations, looking northeast. - Short Pump Shell Gas Station, 11441…1933Oblique view of rear (south) and right side (west) el…Oblique view of rear (southeast) and right side (southwest) elevations, looking north. - Downtown Short Pump Grocery, W…1933Oblique view of rear (southeast) and right side (sout…Rear (southeast) elevation, looking northwest. - Downtown Short Pump Grocery, West Broad Street (State Route 250) and T…1933Rear (southeast) elevation, looking northwest. - Down…
1940s–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
Today9 recent
Carpenters near2016Carpenters nearStair remodel in Short Pump Virginia (4)2015Stair remodel in Short Pump Virginia (4)Stair remodel in Short Pump Virginia (3)2015Stair remodel in Short Pump Virginia (3)Stair remodel in Short Pump Virginia (17)2015Stair remodel in Short Pump Virginia (17)Stair remodel in Short Pump Virginia (17)2015Stair remodel in Short Pump Virginia (17)Stair remodel in Short Pump Virginia (16)2015Stair remodel in Short Pump Virginia (16)Stair remodel in Short Pump Virginia (15)2015Stair remodel in Short Pump Virginia (15)Stair remodel in Short Pump Virginia (14)2015Stair remodel in Short Pump Virginia (14)A moved church in Virginia2014A moved church in Virginia
Timeline

Short Pump, 1819 to 1936

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1819Post officeThe Short Pump post office opens
  3. 1837Post officeThe Short Pump post office closes
  4. 20th century
  5. 1933In the archive6, Interior view, looking north. - Short Pump Shell Gas Station, 11441 West Broad Street
  6. 1936On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Short Pump came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Short Pump.

Read it all →

Short Pump began as a local tavern stop situated at a strategic crossroads in the early nineteenth century. Purchased around 1814 by Col. Saunders, the tavern profited from the local coal industry, westward movement in the state, and the extension of roads in the period after the Revolutionary War. Along with the food, drink, and lodgings that taverns typically provided for visitors, this tavern served as a post-office, voting precinct, and local market during its roughly 35 years in business. It also briefly housed a school for young white men and a resident doctor. While a gathering spot for white locals and travelers, the tavern relied on enslaved labor and hosted occasional slave auctions.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

On the map

Short Pump on the map, 1936 to 1994

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

Short Pump on the 1936 USGS mapShort Pump on the 1941 USGS mapShort Pump on the 1963 USGS mapShort Pump on the 1974 USGS mapShort Pump on the 1981 USGS mapShort Pump on the 1994 USGS map1936Glen Allen 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 Short Pump.

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.

6, Interior view, looking north. - Short Pump Shell Gas Station, 11441 West Broad Street
Retake this view6, Interior view, looking north. - Short Pump Shell Gas Station, 11441 West Broad Street, 1933

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Short Pump

Nobody well known was born in Short Pump 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
Places that used to be

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

Short Pump had its own post office from 1819 to 1837.

Short Pump
1819–1837
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Shady Grove
Gone or out of use
Springfield Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Short Pump
North Gayton Baptist ChurchShady GroveSpringfield

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

Help out

Finish Short Pump’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view6, Interior view, looking north. - Shor…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Tuckahoe4 historic placesB−WyndhamIts storyD−InnsbrookIts storyD−

Questions about Short Pump’s history

What year was Short Pump founded?

The Short Pump post office opened in 1819, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Short Pump rank for history?

Short Pump is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns, #143 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.

How old are the homes in Short Pump?

0.3% of Short Pump’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1999.

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), Wikipedia, 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.