More historic than 25% of U.S. towns · #48 of 61 in West Virginia. What drives it
Most of Vienna was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1967. Below: maps from 1904 on and the census since 1940.
Founding year: the first Vienna post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1935.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Vienna’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Vienna is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns, #48 of 61 in West Virginia. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Vienna’s overall grade.
West Virginia towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical West Virginia town has 29.6 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Vienna’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (17% of West Virginia towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C. The pre-1940 share (±2.4 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1935.
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 Vienna’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In 1794, Joseph Spencer gave the city its name. Spencer served as an aide de camp to his father during the American Revolutionary War. It began as a 5,000-acre settlement, a grant to Spencer for his services during the war. Charles R. Blair was Vienna's first mayor after it was incorporated in 1935. Vienna was known for Vitrolite production until the 1940s.
In 2016, PFOA pollution was found in a stream in Vienna that originated in a DuPont chemical company landfill was the trigger for a landmark class-action lawsuit over PFOA contamination in the region.
The Vienna post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1935.
How does Vienna rank for history?
Vienna is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns, #48 of 61 in West 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 Vienna?
9% of Vienna’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 13% for a West Virginia town; the median home was built in 1967.
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 (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) 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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