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South Hill16Photo: User:Corvokarasu · Public domain
B+History
History · South Hill

South Hill’s post office opened in 1814, and 4 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 72% of U.S. towns · #52 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it

Most of South Hill was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. 4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 96 buildings. Below: maps from 1908 on and the census since 1910.

1814first post office
4on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How South Hill began

When was South Hill founded?

1814

The South Hill post office opened in 1814, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 732 in 19102020 census: 4,690212 years

How historic is South Hill?

B+

More historic than 72% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first South Hill post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives South Hill’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, South Hill is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns, #52 of 253 in Virginia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of South Hill’s overall grade.
Founding era1814, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19404.9% of homes (±3.2) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register4 listings, 101 historic buildings, 211 per 10,000 residents · typical VA town 3.6 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 72%
NewerOlder
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 80%

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 South Hill’s 211 sits above most of its state (78% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 101 historic buildings outnumber those of 89% 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 (±3.2 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 South Hill’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 South Hill are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe South Hill Commercial Historic District takes in 96 historic buildings.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1908 to 1923, drew every building in South Hill.Deep rootsA post office since 1814: 212 years of South Hill.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start South Hill’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how South Hill’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 101 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
101
each building in a district counts
first listed
2003
Colonial Theatre
Colonial TheatreGroom, John, Elementary SchoolSouth Hill Commercial Historic DistrictPark View High School
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Commercial Style1
Colonial TheatreCommercial Style
Groom, John, Elementary SchoolBuilding
All 4 listings
South Hill Commercial Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2017Park View High SchoolBuilding · listed 2025

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

Every building

South Hill, building by building, 1908–1923

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

South Hill fire insurance map, 1908, sheet 11908Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story so far

South Hill, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of South Hill yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

South Hill is a town in Mecklenburg County, Virginia, United States. The population was 4,709 at the 2020 census. Located on major Interstate and U.S. highways, it has a full-service hospital (serving patients from several rural counties), a tobacco market, and several hotels. South Hill has a close relationship with the neighboring town of La Crosse. Kerr Lake, a large reservoir popular with boaters and fishermen, is a short distance to the southwest. The Colonial Theatre was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.

Its first post office opened in 1814. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 4,650 in 2010, 4,690 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

South Hill, 1814 to 1972

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1814Post officeThe South Hill post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1921Born hereRobert Wynn is born here
  5. 1965Born hereHoward Feggins is born here
  6. 1968On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1971Born hereBen Coleman is born here
  8. 1972Born hereWaverly Jackson is born here
By decade

South Hill, decade by decade

Today30 recent
John Groom Elementary School2018John Groom Elementary School2017-06-26 14 48 23 View north along Virginia State Route 138 (Union Mill Road) at U.S. Route 1 (Mecklenburg Avenue) in20172017-06-26 14 48 23 View north along Virginia State R…2017-06-26 14 37 31 View north along U.S. Route 1 and east along U.S. Route 58 Business (Mecklenburg Avenue) at Danvill…20172017-06-26 14 37 31 View north along U.S. Route 1 and…Welcome to2010Welcome toVeterans Memorial Park2010Veterans Memorial ParkVFW Post 71662010VFW Post 7166Town Hall of2010Town Hall ofSouth Hill, Virginia2010South Hill, VirginiaSouth Hill, Virginia - panoramio (2)2010South Hill, Virginia - panoramio (2)South Hill, Virginia - panoramio (1)2010South Hill, Virginia - panoramio (1)South Hill, VA, USA2010South Hill, VA, USASouth Hill, VA, USA - panoramio (9)2010South Hill, VA, USA - panoramio (9)South Hill, VA, USA - panoramio (8)2010South Hill, VA, USA - panoramio (8)South Hill, VA, USA - panoramio (7)2010South Hill, VA, USA - panoramio (7)South Hill, VA, USA - panoramio (6)2010South Hill, VA, USA - panoramio (6)South Hill, VA, USA - panoramio (5)2010South Hill, VA, USA - panoramio (5)South Hill, VA, USA - panoramio (4)2010South Hill, VA, USA - panoramio (4)South Hill, VA, USA - panoramio (2)2010South Hill, VA, USA - panoramio (2)South Hill historical marker2010South Hill historical markerSouth Hill United Methodist Church2010South Hill United Methodist ChurchSouth Hill Presbyterian Church2010South Hill Presbyterian ChurchSouth Hill Enterprise2010South Hill EnterpriseSouth Hill Elementary School2010South Hill Elementary SchoolLiberty Hill Baptist Church2010Liberty Hill Baptist ChurchFirst Baptist Church - panoramio (1)2010First Baptist Church - panoramio (1)Change Warehouse2010Change WarehouseAmerican Legion Post 972010American Legion Post 97American Legion Post 97 - panoramio (1)2010American Legion Post 97 - panoramio (1)2009-02-19 Kangaroo Express in20092009-02-19 Kangaroo Express inSouth Hill162007South Hill16
On the map

South Hill on the map, 1968 to 1981

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

South Hill on the 1968 USGS mapSouth Hill on the 1981 USGS map1968South Hill 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 South Hill.

People over time

South Hill, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0001920194019601980200020204,690

Grew from 732 people in 1910 to 4,690 in 2020, 6 times over.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in South Hill

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

See all →
B
Ben ColemanAmerican football player · b. 1971
R
Robert WynnAmerican military personnel · b. 1921
W
Waverly JacksonAmerican football player · b. 1972
H
Howard FegginsAmerican football player · b. 1965
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

South Hill’s post office has been open since 1814.

Gone or out of use
South Hill Airfieldairport
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside South Hill
OakwoodWest View

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). 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.

La Crosse1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about South Hill’s history

What year was South Hill founded?

The South Hill post office opened in 1814, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does South Hill rank for history?

South Hill is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns, #52 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 South Hill?

4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Colonial Theatre (listed 2003, the first), and 1 historic district, the South Hill Commercial Historic District, with 96 contributing buildings. 101 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in South Hill?

5% of South Hill’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.2 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1980.

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 (30), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.