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C−History
History · Sterling

Sterling’s post office opened in 1887, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 20% of U.S. towns · #161 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it

Most of Sterling was built recently: 0.3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. Below: 11 old photos and papers and maps from 1944 on.

1887first post office
1on the National Register
0.3%homes built before 1940
11old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Sterling’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Sterling began

When was Sterling founded?

1887

The Sterling post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Guilford Station (1870) and Loudoun (1872), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 30,337139 years

How historic is Sterling?

C−

More historic than 20% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Sterling’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sterling is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #161 of 253 in Virginia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Sterling’s overall grade.
Founding era1887, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19400.3% of homes (±0.4) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register1 listing, 0.3 per 10,000 residents · typical VA town 3.6 · U.S. 2.4C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 20%
NewerOlder
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 37%

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 Sterling’s 0.3 sits near the middle of its state (35% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±0.4 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 Sterling’s past

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

Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Sterling, and 3 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

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

Sterling’s post office has been open since 1887. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Guilford Station
1870–1872
Loudoun
1872–1887
Sterling
1887–today
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
GuilfordOak GroveSterling Park
Gone or out of use
Old Sterling United Methodist ChurchchurchSterling Annex Community Centerbuilding
1cemetery inside Sterling
Sterling

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

The story

How Sterling came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Sterling.

Read it all →

In 1962, large farms made up the 1,762 acres (713 ha) of what today is called Sterling Park. Route 7, also known as Leesburg Pike, bordered what used to be Jesse Hughes's dairy farm. Hughes arrived in Loudoun County in the early 20th century and was a longtime head of the county's Democrats. Fred Franklin Tavenner, who was somewhat related to Benjamin Franklin, operated vast stretches of Sterling Farm at the southwest fringes of Sterling Park. Tavenner had purchased land from Albert Shaw Jr., who had inherited it from his father Albert B. Shaw, editor and publisher of the American Review of Reviews. One of Shaw's spreads, totaling 1,640 acres (660 ha), was called "The Experimental Farm" because it was one of the first area farms to receive a U.S. grant for applying "scientific methods", as Tavenner called them. According to Tavenner, refugees from the Soviet Union ran the farm while Sha…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Sterling, 1870 to 2000

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1870Post officeThe Guilford Station post office opens
  3. 1872Post officeThe Guilford Station post office closes
  4. 1872Post officeThe Loudoun post office opens
  5. 1887Post officeThe Loudoun post office closes
  6. 1887Post officeThe Sterling post office opens
  7. 1898Born hereHannah Nokes is born here
  8. 20th century
  9. 1940In the archiveFarmhouse and cane near Sterling. Loudoun County, Virginia
  10. 1944On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1966Born hereBilly King is born here
  12. 1982Born hereHilarie Burton is born here
  13. 21st century
  14. 2000Born hereBret Halsey is born here
By decade

Sterling, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s11 items
Farmhouse and cane near Sterling. Loudoun County, Virginia1940Farmhouse and cane near Sterling. Loudoun County, Vir…Boy on way home from school. Can contains his lunch. Near Sterling, Virginia1940Boy on way home from school. Can contains his lunch. …Untitled photo, possibly related to: Boys on way home from school. Near Sterling, Virginia1940Untitled photo, possibly related to: Boys on way home…Houses at crossroads, two miles west of Sterling1940Houses at crossroads, two miles west of SterlingRetired railroad engineer who owns twenty-five acre farm. Raises corn and wheat near Sterling, Virginia1940Retired railroad engineer who owns twenty-five acre f…Boys on way home from school. Near Sterling, Virgina1940Boys on way home from school. Near Sterling, VirginaUntitled photo, possibly related to: Retired railroad engineer who owns twenty-five acre farm. Raises corn and wheat ne…1940Untitled photo, possibly related to: Retired railroad…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Houses at crossroads, two miles west of Sterling1940Untitled photo, possibly related to: Houses at crossr…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Houses at crossroads, two miles west of Sterling1940Untitled photo, possibly related to: Houses at crossr…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Houses at crossroads, two miles west of Sterling1940Untitled photo, possibly related to: Houses at crossr…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Houses at crossroads, two miles west of Sterling1940Untitled photo, possibly related to: Houses at crossr…
1950s–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
Today30 recent
House in Sterling Park2023House in Sterling Park2022-05-22 11 11 51 View north along Virginia State Route 28 (Sully Road) from the Washington and Old Dominion Rail Tra…20222022-05-22 11 11 51 View north along Virginia State R…2022-05-22 11 10 50 View south along Virginia State Route 28 (Sully Road) from the Washington and Old Dominion Rail Tra…20222022-05-22 11 10 50 View south along Virginia State R…2022-05-22 11 03 29 View north along Virginia State Route 28 (Sully Road) from Waxpool Road and Church Road (Virginia S…20222022-05-22 11 03 29 View north along Virginia State R…2022-05-22 11 01 33 View south along Virginia State Route 28 (Sully Road) from Waxpool Road and Church Road (Virginia S…20222022-05-22 11 01 33 View south along Virginia State R…2022-05-22 10 55 45 View north along Virginia State Route 28 (Sully Road) from Sterling Boulevard (Virginia State Secon…20222022-05-22 10 55 45 View north along Virginia State R…Park View High School main entrance May 20212021Park View High School main entrance May 2021Christ the Redeemer Catholic Church (Sterling, VA) in July 20212021Christ the Redeemer Catholic Church (Sterling, VA) in…Donald Trump USCBP National Targeting Center 20182018Donald Trump USCBP National Targeting Center 20182018-07-29 15 52 16 View west along Virginia State Route 846 (Sterling Boulevard) at Virginia State Route 1419 (Poplar …20182018-07-29 15 52 16 View west along Virginia State Ro…2018-07-29 15 41 27 View west along Virginia State Route 846 (Sterling Boulevard) at Virginia State Route 1401 (Holly A…20182018-07-29 15 41 27 View west along Virginia State Ro…2017-10-13 12 23 13 View south along Virginia State Route 28 (Sully Road) from the Washington and Old Dominion Rail Tra…20172017-10-13 12 23 13 View south along Virginia State R…2017-10-13 12 22 20 View north along Virginia State Route 28 (Sully Road) from the Washington and Old Dominion Rail Tra…20172017-10-13 12 22 20 View north along Virginia State R…2017-10-13 12 04 22 View north along Virginia State Route 28 (Sully Road) from Waxpool Road and Church Road (Virginia S…20172017-10-13 12 04 22 View north along Virginia State R…2017-10-13 12 03 36 View south along Virginia State Route 28 (Sully Road) from Waxpool Road and Church Road (Virginia S…20172017-10-13 12 03 36 View south along Virginia State R…2017-10-13 11 59 09 View north along Virginia State Route 28 (Sully Road) from Sterling Boulevard (Virginia State Secon…20172017-10-13 11 59 09 View north along Virginia State R…2017-10-12 12 44 56 View south along Virginia State Route 28 (Sully Road) at the exit for Virginia State Secondary Rout…20172017-10-12 12 44 56 View south along Virginia State R…2017-10-12 11 54 21 View north along Virginia State Route 28 (Sully Road) at the exit for Virginia State Secondary Rout…20172017-10-12 11 54 21 View north along Virginia State R…2017-10-12 11 53 42 View north along Virginia State Route 28 (Sully Road) at the exit for Virginia State Secondary Rout…20172017-10-12 11 53 42 View north along Virginia State R…2017-10-12 11 52 49 View north along Virginia State Route 28 (Sully Road) at the exit for Virginia State Secondary Rout…20172017-10-12 11 52 49 View north along Virginia State R…WPFG Bowling Tournnament2015WPFG Bowling TournnamentLOUDOUN NOVA CAMPUS, MORNING2015LOUDOUN NOVA CAMPUS, MORNINGBowling WPFG2015Bowling WPFGThe Greene Turtle - Dulles Town Center2013The Greene Turtle - Dulles Town CenterDulles Terminal detail2013Dulles Terminal detailDulles Terminal Outside North2013Dulles Terminal Outside NorthPotomac, VA, USA2012Potomac, VA, USAMuay Thai Championship Boxing - Anthony Cordero2011Muay Thai Championship Boxing - Anthony CorderoWaxpool-282006Waxpool-28Algonkian-Pkwy-Sterling2006Algonkian-Pkwy-Sterling
On the map

Sterling on the map, 1944 to 1994

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

Sterling on the 1944 USGS mapSterling on the 1952 USGS mapSterling on the 1968 USGS mapSterling on the 1972 USGS mapSterling on the 1980 USGS mapSterling on the 1994 USGS map1944Seneca 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 Sterling.

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.

Farmhouse and cane near Sterling. Loudoun County, Virginia
Retake this viewFarmhouse and cane near Sterling. Loudoun County, Virginia, 1940

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Sterling

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2000
Vestal's Gap Road and Lanesville Historic Distr…
Vestal's Gap Road and Lanesville Historic District
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Early Republic1
Vestal's Gap Road and Lanesville Historic DistrictEarly Republic

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Sterling

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

See all →
Hilarie BurtonAmerican actress · b. 1982
B
Bret HalseyAmerican soccer player · b. 2000
Billy KingAmerican basketball player-coach · b. 1966
Hannah NokesAmerican transgender pioneer · b. 1898
Help out

Finish Sterling’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 viewFarmhouse and cane near Sterling. Loudo…: 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.

Dulles Town CenterIts storyD−Oak GroveIts storyD−CascadesIts storyD−Sugarland RunIts storyD−Ashburn3 historic placesC

Questions about Sterling’s history

What year was Sterling founded?

The Sterling post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Sterling rank for history?

Sterling is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #161 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 Sterling?

One place: the Vestal's Gap Road and Lanesville Historic District (listed 2000).

How old are the homes in Sterling?

0.3% of Sterling’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1982.

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 Library of Congress (11), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.