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AHistory
History · Strasburg

Strasburg dates to 1761, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 95% of U.S. towns · #9 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 292 buildings. Below: 7 old photos and papers, maps from 1908 on, and the census since 1860.

1761founded
4on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
7old photos & papers
7famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Strasburg’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Strasburg began

When was Strasburg founded?

1761

Strasburg dates its founding to 1761 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1860.

First census: 624 in 18602020 census: 7,083265 years

How historic is Strasburg?

A

More historic than 95% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1792.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Strasburg’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Strasburg is more historic than 95% of U.S. towns, #9 of 253 in Virginia. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Strasburg’s overall grade.
Founding era1761, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194016.5% of homes (±5.6) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register4 listings, 301 historic buildings, 417 per 10,000 residents · typical VA town 3.6 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 95%
NewerOlder
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 97%

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 Strasburg’s 417 sits above most of its state (88% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 301 historic buildings outnumber those of 95% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1761.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.6 points).

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Strasburg’s past

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

A historic districtThe Strasburg Historic DIstrict takes in 292 historic buildings.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1908 to 1923, drew every building in Strasburg.Older than the countryEstablished in 1761, 15 years before the Declaration of Independence.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

4 listings protect 301 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
301
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Strasburg Stone and Earthenware Manufacturing C…
Strasburg Stone and Earthenware Manufacturing CompanyStrasburg Historic DIstrictHupp HouseMount Pleasant
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Federal2
Vernacular1
American Foursquare1
Queen Anne1
Bungalow1
Second Empire1
Strasburg Stone and Earthenware Manufacturing CompanyBuilding
Strasburg Historic DIstrictVernacular
Hupp HouseColonial
Mount PleasantFederal

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

Every building

Strasburg, 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.

Strasburg fire insurance map, 1908, sheet 11908Sheet 1 of 4
Edition
BrickWoodStone

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

Timeline

Strasburg, 1761 to 1987

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1761
    FoundingStrasburg is established
  3. 1792Post officeThe Strasburg post office opens
  4. 19th century
  5. 1860In the archive(Map of the vicinity of Strasburg, Virginia)
  6. 1886Born hereBernadotte Everly Schmitt is born here
  7. 1892In the archiveOld battle grounds, Fishers' Hill
  8. 20th century
  9. 1905Born hereAbbie Rowe is born here
  10. 1920In the archiveAcademy
  11. 1947On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 1970Born hereDanni Leigh is born here
  13. 1987Born hereDavid Ausberry is born here
The story

How Strasburg came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Strasburg.

Read it all →

German-speaking Pennsylvanians were among the first non-native settlers to arrive in the northern Shenandoah Valley and Strasburg area. The luscious greenery and fertile land were prime targets for immigrant farmers. On August 21, 1734, speculator Henry Willis was granted 2,030 acres (8.2 km2) total of this land by William Gooch, Virginia's Lieutenant Governor and Commander in Chief. Gooch wished to settle the Valley to create a buffer between Native American tribes and the rest of the Virginia colony. During the summer of 1735, Willis sold his entire property to Jacob Funk. Jacob, in return, partitioned his new purchase, reselling a part of it to his brother John.

ChaptersEarly settlersFounderRecent growth

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Strasburg, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s–1890s6 items
(Map of the vicinity of Strasburg, Virginia)1860(Map of the vicinity of Strasburg, Virginia)MapThe escape of Stonewall Jackson's Army down the valley pike at Strausburg [sic], Va1862The escape of Stonewall Jackson's Army down the valle…Map of the Country between New Baltimore on the east, Warrenton and Thornton's Gap on the south; Strasburg on the West,…1863Map of the Country between New Baltimore on the east,…MapChasing the Rebs through Strasburg1864Chasing the Rebs through StrasburgOld battle grounds, Fishers' Hill1892Old battle grounds, Fishers' HillStrasburgh [sic], Shenandoah Valley1892Strasburgh [sic], Shenandoah Valley
1920s1 item
Academy1920Academy
1930s–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
Today11 recent
2019-07-19 13 08 20 Cumulus clouds developing over Strasburg in Shenandoah County, Virginia, viewed from an airplane wh…20192019-07-19 13 08 20 Cumulus clouds developing over St…Snow at sunset2012Snow at sunsetNate Leath Greg Ruby Quartet Christina's Cafe Strasburg VA October 20122012Nate Leath Greg Ruby Quartet Christina's Cafe Strasbu…Great Train Raid2008Great Train RaidSunrise2007SunriseStrasburg, Virginia from Signal Knob2007Strasburg, Virginia from Signal KnobStrasburg sunset2007Strasburg sunsetStrasburg Sunset with Moon2007Strasburg Sunset with MoonShenandoah sunset2007Shenandoah sunsetMadison Heights, Strasburg, Virginia from Signal Knob2007Madison Heights, Strasburg, Virginia from Signal KnobCharismo player The Hackensaw Boys Strasburg Theater Strasburg VA May 20072007Charismo player The Hackensaw Boys Strasburg Theater …
On the map

Strasburg on the map, 1947 to 1994

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

Strasburg on the 1947 USGS mapStrasburg on the 1950 USGS mapStrasburg on the 1972 USGS mapStrasburg on the 1986 USGS mapStrasburg on the 1994 USGS map1947Strasburg 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 Strasburg.

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.

The escape of Stonewall Jackson's Army down the valley pike at Strausburg [sic], Va
Retake this viewThe escape of Stonewall Jackson's Army down the valley pike at Strausburg [sic], Va, 1862

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Strasburg, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,5007,0007,5001900195020007,083

Grew from 624 people in 1860 to 7,083 in 2020, more than tenfold.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

Famous people

7 famous people were born in Strasburg

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

See all →
Bernadotte Everly SchmittAmerican historian · b. 1886
David AusberryAmerican football player · b. 1987
Abbie RoweAmerican photographer · b. 1905
D
Danni LeighAmerican musician · b. 1970
A
Abraham BowmanPolitician · b. 1749
G
Glenn McQuillenAmerican baseball player · b. 1915
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Strasburg’s post office has been open since 1792.

Gone or out of use
Spanglers Milllocale
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Strasburg
Mount Zion United Methodist ChurchRiver ViewSaint Paul Lutheran Church

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

Help out

Finish Strasburg’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 viewThe escape of Stonewall Jackson's Army …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Strasburg’s history

What year was Strasburg founded?

In 1761, according to Wikidata. Strasburg’s post office opened in 1792, and the census of 1860 counted 624 people here.

How does Strasburg rank for history?

Strasburg is more historic than 95% of U.S. towns, #9 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 Strasburg?

4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Strasburg Stone and Earthenware Manufacturing Company (listed 1979, the first), and 1 historic district, the Strasburg Historic DIstrict, with 292 contributing buildings. 301 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Strasburg?

17% of Strasburg’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.6 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1986.

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 (13), the Library of Congress (5), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, 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.