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History · Stewartsville

Stewartsville’s post office opened in 1837, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1929 on.

1837first post office
0on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Stewartsville began

When was Stewartsville founded?

1837

The Stewartsville post office opened in 1837, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Cross Roads (1839), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 533189 years
Founding year: the first Stewartsville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Stewartsville’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 Stewartsville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsA post office since 1837: 189 years of Stewartsville.Old housesHalf of Stewartsville’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Stewartsville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Stewartsville’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
Timeline

Stewartsville, 1837 to 1934

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1837Post officeThe Stewartsville post office opens
  3. 1839Post officeThe Cross Roads post office opens
  4. 1859Post officeThe Cross Roads post office closes
  5. 20th century
  6. 1929On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1934Post officeThe Stewartsville post office closes
The story so far

Stewartsville, in brief

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

Stewartsville is a census-designated place (CDP) in southwestern Bedford County, Virginia, United States. The population as of the 2020 census was 533. The CDP is located along State Route 24, between Vinton and Chamblissburg. It is part of the Lynchburg Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1837.

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

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.
Add from your album
On the map

Stewartsville on the map, 1929 to 1984

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

Stewartsville on the 1929 USGS mapStewartsville on the 1933 USGS mapStewartsville on the 1963 USGS mapStewartsville on the 1972 USGS mapStewartsville on the 1984 USGS map1929Roanoke 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 Stewartsville.

Famous people

Famous people close to Stewartsville

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

See all →
John C. MatherAmerican astrophysicist and cosmologist · b. 1946
Henrietta LacksAmerican woman whose cancer cells are the sourc… · b. 1920
John PayneAmerican actor · b. 1912
David HuddlestonAmerican actor · b. 1930
Lynn BariAmerican actress · b. 1913
Jesse L. MartinAmerican stage, musical theatre, film and telev… · b. 1969
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Stewartsville had its own post office from 1837 to 1934. Another post office, Cross Roads, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Stewartsville
1837–1934
Cross Roads
1839–1859
18301930today

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

Questions about Stewartsville’s history

What year was Stewartsville founded?

The Stewartsville post office opened in 1837, 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 →
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 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.