Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 38% of U.S. towns · #115 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it
Most of Timberlake was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. Below: maps from 1950 on and the census since 2000.
More historic than 38% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Timberlake is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #115 of 253 in Virginia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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 Timberlake’s 2.4 sits near the middle of its state (44% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: our sources. 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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Timberlake’s history is told.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Timberlake yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Timberlake is a census-designated place (CDP) in Campbell County, Virginia, United States. The population was 13,267 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Lynchburg Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 12,183 to 13,267 (+9%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Timberlake. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Timberlake.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Between 10,683 and 13,267 people in every census since 2000.
3 censuses, 2000–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Timberlake’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Timberlake itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Timberlake is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #115 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.
Two places: the Federal Hill (listed 1982) and the Grove, The (2021).
5% of Timberlake’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.8 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1982.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
2017
2017
