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Apartments and the back of Inova Fairfax HospitalPhoto: Ser Amantio di Nicolao · CC BY-SA 3.0
DHistory
History · Woodburn

Half of Woodburn’s homes were built after 1969

More historic than 9% of U.S. towns · #186 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it

Most of Woodburn was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1969. Below: maps from 1945 on.

0on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Ser Amantio di Nicolao · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

About Woodburn’s history

How historic is Woodburn?

D

More historic than 9% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
History grade

What drives Woodburn’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Woodburn is more historic than 9% of U.S. towns, #186 of 253 in Virginia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Woodburn’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19401.9% of homes (±1.7) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%C−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical VA town 3.6 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 9%
NewerOlder
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 27%

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 Woodburn’s 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 (±1.7 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 Woodburn’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 Woodburn are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages5 hamlets and corners are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Woodburn’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Woodburn’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
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
CamelotMill Creek ParkNew HopePine RidgeStrathmeade Springs
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Woodburn
Gooding - Seaton FamilyPleasant Valley Memorial Park

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story so far

Woodburn, in brief

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

Woodburn is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population as of the 2010 census was 8,480.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 8,480 to 8,797 (+4%).

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

By decade

Woodburn, decade by decade

Today12 recent
2018-10-31 14 20 24 View east along U.S. Route 50 (Arlington Boulevard) at the exit for Virginia State Route 650 (Gallo…20182018-10-31 14 20 24 View east along U.S. Route 50 (Ar…2018-10-31 14 05 44 View west along U.S. Route 50 (Arlington Boulevard) from the overpass for Virginia State Route 650 …20182018-10-31 14 05 44 View west along U.S. Route 50 (Ar…2018-10-31 14 00 07 View east along U.S. Route 50 (Arlington Boulevard) from the overpass for Virginia State Route 650 …20182018-10-31 14 00 07 View east along U.S. Route 50 (Ar…2018-10-31 13 55 06 View west along U.S. Route 50 (Arlington Boulevard) from the overpass for Interstate 495 (Capital B…20182018-10-31 13 55 06 View west along U.S. Route 50 (Ar…2016-10-28 12 57 06 View east along U.S. Route 50 (Arlington Boulevard) at Gallows Road (Virginia State Secondary Route…20162016-10-28 12 57 06 View east along U.S. Route 50 (Ar…2016-07-04 15 56 20 View north along the inner loop of the Capital Beltway (Interstate 495) at Exit 50 (U.S. Route 50-A…20162016-07-04 15 56 20 View north along the inner loop o…2016-07-04 15 55 57 View north along the inner loop of the Capital Beltway (Interstate 495) at Exit 51 (Virginia State …20162016-07-04 15 55 57 View north along the inner loop o…2016-07-04 07 24 04 View north along the inner loop of the Capital Beltway (Interstate 495) at Exit 50 (U.S. Route 50-A…20162016-07-04 07 24 04 View north along the inner loop o…2016-01-22 08 44 54 View south along the outer loop of the Capital Beltway (Interstate 495) at Exit 52 (Virginia State …20162016-01-22 08 44 54 View south along the outer loop o…2016-01-22 08 44 11 View south along the outer loop of the Capital Beltway (Interstate 495) near Exit 52 (Virginia Stat…20162016-01-22 08 44 11 View south along the outer loop o…2016-01-22 08 43 37 View south along the outer loop of the Capital Beltway (Interstate 495) 1 mile north of Exit 52 (Vi…20162016-01-22 08 43 37 View south along the outer loop o…2016-01-22 08 43 15 View south along the outer loop of the Capital Beltway (Interstate 495) just north of Exit 51 (Virg…20162016-01-22 08 43 15 View south along the outer loop o…
On the map

Woodburn on the map, 1945 to 1994

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

Woodburn on the 1945 USGS mapWoodburn on the 1951 USGS mapWoodburn on the 1965 USGS mapWoodburn on the 1971 USGS mapWoodburn on the 1984 USGS mapWoodburn on the 1994 USGS map1945Annandale sheet · 1:31,680

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Woodburn

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

See all →
Jason SudeikisAmerican actor and comedian · b. 1975
Ariel WinterAmerican actress · b. 1998
Taryn ManningAmerican actress, singer and songwriter · b. 1978
Michael ArndtAmerican screenwriter · b. 1970
I
Ilia MalininAmerican figure skater · b. 2004
Brian KendrickAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1979
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

MantuaIts storyD−Annandale1 historic placeBWakefield1 historic placeC−MerrifieldIts storyD

Questions about Woodburn’s history

How does Woodburn rank for history?

Woodburn is more historic than 9% of U.S. towns, #186 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 Woodburn?

2% of Woodburn’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.7 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1969.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (12), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.