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History · Stanardsville

Stanardsville’s post office opened in 1807, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 146 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1930 on, and the census since 1930.

1807first post office
2on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Stanardsville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Stanardsville began

When was Stanardsville founded?

1807

The Stanardsville post office opened in 1807, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 229 in 19302020 census: 349219 years
Founding year: the first Stanardsville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Stanardsville’s past

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

A historic districtThe Stanardsville Historic District takes in 146 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 476 in 2000; 349 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsA post office since 1807: 219 years of Stanardsville.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

2 listings protect 147 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
147
each building in a district counts
first listed
1970
Greene County Courthouse
Greene County Courthouse
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Early Classical Revival1
Federal1
Greek Revival1
Gothic Revival (Carpenter Gothic)1
Queen Anne1
Bungalow/Craftsman1
Greene County CourthouseBuilding
Stanardsville Historic DistrictEarly Classical Revival

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

Help out

Start Stanardsville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewFire road just off the trail to Bearfen…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Stanardsville, census by census

010020030040050019401960198020002020Peak: 476

Peaked at 476 in 2000; 349 people lived here in 2020.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

The story

How Stanardsville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Stanardsville.

Read it all →

Stanardsville is named for the Stanard family, landholders who surveyed the first lots for the town in 1794. In 1838, Greene County was created from land previously contained within Orange County and Stanardsville was selected as the county seat.

The Greene County Courthouse, Beadles House, Octonia Stone, Powell–McMullan House, and Stanardsville Historic District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Stanardsville, 1807 to 2000

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1807Post officeThe Stanardsville post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1930On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1980In the archiveFire road just off the trail to Bearfence Hut on the Appalachian Trail in northern Virgin…
  6. 1999In the archiveGreene County Courthouse (Built 1838), Stanardsville, (Greene County, Virginia)
  7. 21st century
  8. 2000CensusPopulation peaks at 476
By decade

Stanardsville, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1980s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1980s–1990s2 items
Fire road just off the trail to Bearfence Hut on the Appalachian Trail in northern Virginia1980Fire road just off the trail to Bearfence Hut on the …Greene County Courthouse (Built 1838), Stanardsville, (Greene County, Virginia)1999Greene County Courthouse (Built 1838), Stanardsville,…
Today16 recent
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) ReConnect project supports utility workers from S…2023United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural …Octonia stone 20202020Octonia stone 2020Dilute tortoiseshell cat2020Dilute tortoiseshell catHeavenly Acres Campground2012Heavenly Acres CampgroundHeavenly Acres Campground2012Heavenly Acres CampgroundHeavenly Acres Campground2012Heavenly Acres CampgroundHeavenly Acres Campground2012Heavenly Acres CampgroundHeavenly Acres Campground2012Heavenly Acres CampgroundHeavenly Acres Campground2012Heavenly Acres CampgroundAs part of our partnership with the Virginia Campground Association, Park Manager, Karen Lambey and Tom Cervenak, met w…2012As part of our partnership with the Virginia Campgrou…Lafayette Inn2011Lafayette InnHeavenly Acres Campground2009Heavenly Acres CampgroundHeavenly Acres Campground2009Heavenly Acres CampgroundHeavenly Acres Campground2009Heavenly Acres CampgroundHeavenly Acres Campground2009Heavenly Acres CampgroundVAMap-doton-Orange2005VAMap-doton-Orange
On the map

Stanardsville on the map, 1930 to 1987

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

Stanardsville on the 1930 USGS mapStanardsville on the 1964 USGS mapStanardsville on the 1977 USGS mapStanardsville on the 1987 USGS map1930Madison 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 Stanardsville.

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.

Fire road just off the trail to Bearfence Hut on the Appalachian Trail in northern Virginia
Retake this viewFire road just off the trail to Bearfence Hut on the Appalachian Trail in northern Virginia, 1980

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Stanardsville

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

See all →
Zachary TaylorPresident of the United States from 1849 to 1850 · b. 1784
R
Rob LoweAmerican actor · b. 1964
C
Camila MendesAmerican actress · b. 1994
Meriwether LewisAmerican explorer · b. 1774
Richard BurrUnited States Senator from North Carolina from … · b. 1955
Alexander VandegriftUnited States Marine Corps Medal of Honor recip… · b. 1887

Questions about Stanardsville’s history

What year was Stanardsville founded?

The Stanardsville post office opened in 1807, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Stanardsville?

Two places: the Greene County Courthouse (listed 1970) and the Stanardsville Historic District (2004).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (17), the Library of Congress (1), 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.