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History · Vansant

Vansant’s post office opened in 1908

Most of Vansant was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. Below: maps from 1916 on.

1908first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Vansant began

When was Vansant founded?

1908

The Vansant post office opened in 1908, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Deel (1908), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 442118 years
Founding year: the first Vansant post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Vansant’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 Vansant are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19163 editions of the USGS map, 1916 to 1977. Watch Vansant change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Vansant’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Vansant’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Vansant on the map, 1916 to 1977

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

Vansant on the 1916 USGS mapVansant on the 1963 USGS mapVansant on the 1977 USGS map1916Bucu 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 Vansant.

The story so far

Vansant, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Vansant yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Vansant is a census-designated place (CDP) in Buchanan County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 census, Vansant had a population of 442. Vansant is located just south of the town of Grundy.

Its first post office opened in 1908. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 470 to 442 (-6%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Vansant, 1908 to 1957

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1908Post officeThe Deel post office opens
  3. 1908Post officeThe Vansant post office opens
  4. 1916On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1957Post officeThe Deel post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Famous people

Famous people close to Vansant

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

See all →
Bev PerdueAmerican politician and 73rd Governor of North … · b. 1947
George C. PeeryAmerican Democratic politician, and Governor of… · b. 1873
Heath MillerAll-American college football player, professio… · b. 1982
Jim MoodyAmerican politician · b. 1935
Darrell PowersAmerican military personnel · b. 1923
Lee BrewsterAmerican drag queen, transvestite activist, and… · b. 1943
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Vansant’s post office has been open since 1908. Another post office, Deel, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Deel
1908–1957
Vansant
1908–today
19001960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Deel
Gone or out of use
Vansant Elementary Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Vansant
Looney

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

Questions about Vansant’s history

What year was Vansant founded?

The Vansant post office opened in 1908, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.