Wytheville’s post office opened in 1839, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 88% of U.S. towns · #20 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it
6 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 246 buildings between them. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1860.
The Wytheville post office opened in 1839, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Wythe Courthouse (1793) and Petunia (1890), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 1,111 in 18602020 census: 8,265187 years
How historic is Wytheville?
A
More historic than 88% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Wytheville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Wytheville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wytheville is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns, #20 of 253 in Virginia. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Wytheville’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 Wytheville’s 308 sits above most of its state (83% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 253 historic buildings outnumber those of 94% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.3 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). 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 Wytheville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
Wythe County was created in 1789 and named for George Wythe, the "father of American Jurisprudence" and signer of the Declaration of Independence. In May 1790, Chris Simmerman donated 85 acres, Robert Williams II donated 50 acres, and John Davis donated 10 acres to establish a town and county seat. Robert Adams completed a town survey in November of that year, dividing the area into half-acre lots. The town did not have an official name yet, but was generally known as Wythe Court House.
Two years later, in October 1792, the town was officially named Evansham, for prominent local citizen Jesse Evans. After a disastrous fire in March 1839, the town was renamed Wytheville. At that time, it was home to about 500 residents.
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.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Wytheville’s post office has been open since 1839. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Wythe Courthouse
1793–1839
Wytheville
1839–today
Petunia
1890–1903
17901910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
CrowgeysPetuniaStones Mill
Gone or out of use
Mount Pleasant Schoolschool
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Wytheville
East EndOakwood Memorial GardensSaint JohnsWest End
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Wytheville’s history
What year was Wytheville founded?
The Wytheville post office opened in 1839, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Wytheville rank for history?
Wytheville is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns, #20 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.
What is on the National Register in Wytheville?
6 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Haller-Gibboney Rock House (listed 1972, the first), and 2 historic districts, the St. John's Lutheran Church and Cemetery and the Wytheville Historic District, with 246 contributing buildings. 253 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Wytheville?
16% of Wytheville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.3 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1973.
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 (1), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1940
1940
