On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Westlake Corner is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns. 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 Westlake Corner’s 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 Westlake Corner’s 34.4 sits near the middle of its state (63% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 7 historic buildings outnumber those of 73% 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 (±1.2 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 Westlake Corner’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Westlake Corner, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Westlake Corner yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Westlake Corner is a census-designated place in Franklin County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,553 at the 2020 census up from 976 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Roanoke metropolitan area.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 976 to 1,553 (+59%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Westlake Corner, 1825 to 1956
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Westlake Corner. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1951Moneta 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 Westlake Corner.
On the National Register
3 historic places in Westlake Corner
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
Westlake Corner is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns. 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 Westlake Corner?
Three places: the Booker T. Washington National Monument (listed 1966), the Hook-Powell-Moorman Farm (1995) and the Holland-Duncan House (2000).
How old are the homes in Westlake Corner?
0.0% of Westlake Corner’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.2 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1994.
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 National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.
