More historic than 7% of U.S. towns · #203 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it
Most of Tysons was built recently: 0.9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1995. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1900 on, and the census since 1950.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Tysons is more historic than 7% of U.S. towns, #203 of 253 in Virginia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Tysons’ overall grade.
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 Tysons’ 0.0 sits below most of its state (17% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±0.7 points) is firm at this size.
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 →
What stands out about Tysons’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Known originally as Peach Grove, the area received the designation "Tysons Crossroads" after the Civil War. William Tyson, a Maryland native from Cecil County, purchased a tract of land from A. Lawrence Foster. Tyson served as postmaster of the now discontinued Peach Grove Post Office from 1854 to 1866.
As recently as the 1950s, Tysons was a quiet rural intersection flanked by a few small stores and a fruit stand operated by the Tyson descendants, who sold apples and apple cider from the corner of their property. In 1963, the Tysons area moved from a country crossroads to a giant commercial urban area with the awarding of contracts at the interchange of VA Route 7 and VA Route 123.
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.
Tysons is more historic than 7% of U.S. towns, #203 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.
How old are the homes in Tysons?
0.9% of Tysons’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1995.
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 the Library of Congress (6), 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.
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