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B+History
History · Stuarts Draft

Stuarts Draft dates to 1749, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 70% of U.S. towns · #57 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it

Most of Stuarts Draft was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992. Its Register listings are the Bare House and Mill and the Harper House. Below: maps from 1944 on and the census since 1920.

1749founded
2on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Stuarts Draft began

When was Stuarts Draft founded?

1749

Stuarts Draft dates its founding to 1749 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1920.

First census: 448 in 19202020 census: 12,142277 years

How historic is Stuarts Draft?

B+

More historic than 70% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1837.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Stuarts Draft’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Stuarts Draft is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns, #57 of 253 in Virginia. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Stuarts Draft’s overall grade.
Founding era1749, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 19403.6% of homes (±1.9) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register2 listings, 9 historic buildings, 7.6 per 10,000 residents · typical VA town 3.6 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 70%
NewerOlder
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 78%

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 Stuarts Draft’s 7.6 sits near the middle of its state (51% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 9 historic buildings outnumber those of 75% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1749.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A. The pre-1940 share (±1.9 points) is firm at this size.

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 Stuarts Draft’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 Stuarts Draft are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Older than the countryEstablished in 1749, 27 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Stuarts Draft’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Stuarts Draft’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

Stuarts Draft, 1749 to 1944

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1749
    FoundingStuarts Draft is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1837Post officeThe Stuarts Draft post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1944On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Stuarts Draft came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Stuarts Draft.

Read it all →

Before the arrival of European settlers, the area was the territory of the Shawnee; none of their settlements are known to have existed in Stuarts Draft. Two non-resident tribes were frequent visitors to the area: the Delaware from the north and the Catawba from the south. When European settlers first moved into Augusta County in 1732, these three tribes were in the midst of a war. As a result, armed war parties were a common sight in the white settlements.

ChaptersNotes

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Stuarts Draft, decade by decade

Today29 recent
2016-05-27 19 29 05 View south along U.S. Route 340 (Stuarts Draft Highway) just north of the junction with Virginia St…20162016-05-27 19 29 05 View south along U.S. Route 340 (…2016-05-27 19 16 43 View north along U.S. Route 340 (Stuarts Draft Highway) just north of the junction with Virginia St…20162016-05-27 19 16 43 View north along U.S. Route 340 (…US 340 US Route 340 - Virginia2013US 340 US Route 340 - VirginiaUS 340 US Route 340 - Virginia (8600381454) (cropped)2013US 340 US Route 340 - Virginia (8600381454) (cropped)US 340 2013-03-10 17 49 US Route 340 - Virginia2013US 340 2013-03-10 17 49 US Route 340 - VirginiaUS 340 2013-03-10 17 48 US Route 340 - Virginia2013US 340 2013-03-10 17 48 US Route 340 - VirginiaUS 340 2013-03-10 17 44 US Route 340 - Virginia2013US 340 2013-03-10 17 44 US Route 340 - VirginiaSpringer Road and Forest Springs Drive -052013Springer Road and Forest Springs Drive -05Springer Road and Forest Springs Drive -042013Springer Road and Forest Springs Drive -04Springer Road and Forest Springs Drive -032013Springer Road and Forest Springs Drive -03Springer Road and Forest Springs Drive -022013Springer Road and Forest Springs Drive -02Springer Road and Forest Springs Drive -012013Springer Road and Forest Springs Drive -01Springer Road2013Springer RoadIntersection of Springer Road and Forest Springs Drive2013Intersection of Springer Road and Forest Springs DriveHouses in Stuarts Draft, Virginia -042013Houses in Stuarts Draft, Virginia -04Houses in Stuarts Draft, Virginia -032013Houses in Stuarts Draft, Virginia -03Houses in Stuarts Draft, Virginia -022013Houses in Stuarts Draft, Virginia -02Houses in Stuarts Draft, Virginia -012013Houses in Stuarts Draft, Virginia -01Forest Springs Drive2013Forest Springs DriveEighth grade hall at Stuarts Draft Middle School2013Eighth grade hall at Stuarts Draft Middle SchoolBoys' restroom at Stuarts Draft Middle School2013Boys' restroom at Stuarts Draft Middle SchoolVeterans of Foreign Wars Post 93392010Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9339John Colter historical marker2009John Colter historical markerWelcome to Stuarts Draft Virginia sign2007Welcome to Stuarts Draft Virginia signStuarts Draft High School (renovated)2007Stuarts Draft High School (renovated)VAMap-doton-StuartsDraft2005VAMap-doton-StuartsDraftFinley Memorial Presbyterian Church2003Finley Memorial Presbyterian ChurchStuarts Draft Middle School fire alarm control panel -022002Stuarts Draft Middle School fire alarm control panel …Stuarts Draft Middle School fire alarm control panel -012002Stuarts Draft Middle School fire alarm control panel …
On the map

Stuarts Draft on the map, 1944 to 1984

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

Stuarts Draft on the 1944 USGS mapStuarts Draft on the 1964 USGS mapStuarts Draft on the 1972 USGS mapStuarts Draft on the 1984 USGS map1944Staunton 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 Stuarts Draft.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Stuarts Draft

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
9
each building in a district counts
first listed
2002
Bare House and Mill
Bare House and MillHarper House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Italianate2
Greek Revival1
Bare House and MillGreek Revival
Harper HouseItalianate

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

People over time

Stuarts Draft, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00019201940196019802000202012,142

Grew from 448 people in 1920 to 12,142 in 2020, more than tenfold.

6 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Stuarts Draft

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

See all →
Woodrow Wilson28th President of the United States · b. 1856
Francis CollinsAmerican geneticist and director of the Nationa… · b. 1950
Kate SmithAmerican singer · b. 1907
William HainesAmerican actor, interior designer · b. 1900
Kid KashAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1969
Earl Hamner, Jr.American actor and writer · b. 1923
Places that used to be

Old corners and places now gone

Stuarts Draft’s post office has been open since 1837.

Hamlets and corners on the map
RivermontShenandoah Valley EstatesWhite Hill
Gone or out of use
Lipscomb Schoolschool

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

LyndhurstIts storyC−Sherando1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Stuarts Draft’s history

What year was Stuarts Draft founded?

In 1749, according to Wikidata. Stuarts Draft’s post office opened in 1837, and the census of 1920 counted 448 people here.

How does Stuarts Draft rank for history?

Stuarts Draft is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns, #57 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 Stuarts Draft?

Two places: the Bare House and Mill (listed 2002) and the Harper House (2006).

How old are the homes in Stuarts Draft?

4% of Stuarts Draft’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.9 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1992.

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 (29), 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.