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History · Tangier

Tangier’s post office opened in 1881, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 230 buildings. Below: maps from 1942 on and the census since 1910.

1881first post office
1on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: AviationFreak · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Tangier began

When was Tangier founded?

1881

The Tangier post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 698 in 19102020 census: 436145 years
Founding year: the first Tangier post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Tangier’s past

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

A historic districtThe Tangier Island Historic District takes in 230 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Tangier are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,120 in 1930; 436 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

1 listing protects 230 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
230
each building in a district counts
first listed
2014
Tangier Island Historic District
Tangier Island Historic District
Districts
All 1 listings
Tangier Island Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2014

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

Help out

Start Tangier’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Tangier’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
People over time

Tangier, census by census

02004006008001,0001,200192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,120

Peaked at 1,120 in 1930; 436 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Tangier came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Tangier.

Read it all →

Tangier Island was likely used as a hunting and fishing ground by Native Americans prior to European arrival. A number of Native American artifacts and a large oyster midden have been found on the island, but the island was not inhabited when it was visited in 1608 by John Smith. Smith called the region the "Russel Isles", but it is unclear whether this name was applied originally to Tangier, the nearby Watts Island, or both.

In 1670, Ambrose White, a tavern owner from Accomac, Virginia, received a patent for the island. The next year, it was transferred to Charles Scarburgh and John West, two prominent estate owners from Accomack County who used the island to graze livestock.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Tangier, 1881 to 1942

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1881Post officeThe Tangier post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 1,120
  5. 1942On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Tangier, decade by decade

Today18 recent
Tangier 1662010Tangier 166Tangier 1652010Tangier 165Tangier 1612010Tangier 161Tangier 1572010Tangier 157Tangier 1482010Tangier 148Tangier 1362010Tangier 136Tangier 1352010Tangier 135Tangier 1322010Tangier 132Tangier 1312010Tangier 131Tangier 1302010Tangier 130Tangier 1252010Tangier 125Tangier 1212010Tangier 121Tangier 1182010Tangier 118Tangier 1152010Tangier 115Tangier 1122010Tangier 112Tangier 1112010Tangier 1112000-06-10 02 Watermen unloading lobsters on Tangier Island, Virginia USA20002000-06-10 02 Watermen unloading lobsters on Tangier …2000-06-10 01 Watermen returning from lobster fishing to Tangier Island, Virginia USA20002000-06-10 01 Watermen returning from lobster fishing…
On the map

Tangier on the map, 1942 to 1968

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

Tangier on the 1942 USGS mapTangier on the 1968 USGS map1942Tangier Island sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Tangier.

Questions about Tangier’s history

What year was Tangier founded?

The Tangier post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Tangier?

One place: the Tangier Island Historic District (listed 2014).

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 (18), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.