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History · Springville

Springville’s post office opened in 1852

Most of Springville was built recently: 0.8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. Below: maps from 1935 on.

1852first post office
0on the National Register
0.8%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Springville began

When was Springville founded?

1852

The Springville post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 1,043174 years
Founding year: the first Springville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Springville’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 Springville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Springville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Springville, in brief

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

Springville is a census-designated place in Tazewell County, Virginia, United States. It is the midpoint between Bluefield and Tazewell on US 460 and US 19. As of the 2020 census, Springville had a population of 1,043. Springville is home to several churches including Destiny Outreach Ministries and Springville Christian Church which is purported to be the oldest congregation in Tazewell County. The Bluestone River rises in the Springville area on East River Mountain.

Its first post office opened in 1852. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,371 to 1,043 (-24%).

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

Timeline

Springville, 1852 to 1935

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1852Post officeThe Springville post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1907Post officeThe Springville post office closes
  5. 1935On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Springville on the map, 1935 to 1976

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

Springville on the 1935 USGS mapSpringville on the 1941 USGS mapSpringville on the 1958 USGS mapSpringville on the 1969 USGS mapSpringville on the 1976 USGS map1935Tiptop 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 Springville.

Famous people

Famous people close to Springville

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

See all →
John Forbes NashAmerican mathematician and economist · b. 1928
Norman I. PlatnickAmerican arachnologist · b. 1951
Kathryn HarroldAmerican actress · b. 1950
C
Charlie BarnettAmerican actor and comedian · b. 1954
Fred M. WilcoxAmerican film director · b. 1907
Ahmad BradshawAmerican football player · b. 1986
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Springville had its own post office from 1852 to 1907.

Springville
1852–1907
18501940today
Gone or out of use
Springville Schoolschool
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Springville
HarmonHarmonIresonMcMullenWallace

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

Questions about Springville’s history

What year was Springville founded?

The Springville post office opened in 1852, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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). How TownRatings grades history →

From 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.