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History · Wardensville

Wardensville dates to 1832, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Francis Kotz Farm and the Nicholas Switzer House. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1922 on, and the census since 1880.

1832founded
2on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Wardensville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Wardensville began

When was Wardensville founded?

1832

Wardensville dates its founding to 1832 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 123 in 18802020 census: 269194 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1824.The full story ↓

What stands out about Wardensville’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 745 in 1920; 269 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsEstablished in 1832: 194 years of Wardensville.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wardensville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewFord Motor C., Tractor Road Show: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Wardensville, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 745

Peaked at 745 in 1920; 269 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Wardensville’s Wikipedia page.

Timeline

Wardensville, 1824 to 1927

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1824Post officeThe Trout Run post office opens
  3. 1832
    FoundingWardensville is established
  4. 1835Post officeThe Wardensville post office opens
  5. 1873Post officeThe Trout Run post office closes
  6. 20th century
  7. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 745
  8. 1922On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1927In the archiveFord Motor C., Tractor Road Show
The story

How Wardensville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Wardensville.

Read it all →

The land that Wardensville occupies was originally part of the Northern Neck Proprietary, a 5 million acre tract granted by England's King Charles II and formally established after the restoration of the English monarchy in 1660. In 1719, the land was inherited by Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron who administered many of the land grants to the early European settlers who began arriving in the Capon Valley in the second quarter of the eighteenth century. William H. Warden is believed to be the first settler within the present town. He received a parcel of land from Thomas Fairfax, reportedly surveyed by George Washington, on November 11, 1749.

ChaptersGallery

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Wardensville, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s1 item
Ford Motor C., Tractor Road Show1927Ford Motor C., Tractor Road Show
1930s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today10 recent
Wardensville United Methodist Church2026Wardensville United Methodist ChurchWardensville Presbyterian Church2026Wardensville Presbyterian ChurchNicholas Switzer House2026Nicholas Switzer HouseFaith Mission Church2026Faith Mission ChurchPendleton Community Bank2024Pendleton Community BankCapon Valley Bank2024Capon Valley BankWardensville West Virginia Main Street2013Wardensville West Virginia Main StreetOdd Fellows Hall2013Odd Fellows HallFormer Presbyterian Church2013Former Presbyterian ChurchBlacksmith Jail2013Blacksmith Jail
On the map

Wardensville on the map, 1922 to 1965

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

Wardensville on the 1922 USGS mapWardensville on the 1965 USGS map1922Wardensville 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 Wardensville.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Ford Motor C., Tractor Road Show
Retake this viewFord Motor C., Tractor Road Show, 1927

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Wardensville’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Wardensville

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
2008
Francis Kotz Farm
Francis Kotz FarmNicholas Switzer House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
I-House1
All 2 listings
Francis Kotz FarmBuilding · listed 2008Nicholas Switzer HouseBuilding · listed 2008

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Wardensville

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

See all →
Willa CatherAmerican writer · b. 1873
Richard E. ByrdAmerican naval officer, explorer · b. 1888
Patsy ClineAmerican country singer · b. 1932
Rick SantorumAmerican politician and commentator · b. 1958
Harry F. Byrd Jr.Politician from the United States · b. 1914
Brian BenbenActor · b. 1956
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Wardensville’s post office has been open since 1835. Another post office, Trout Run, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Trout Run
1824–1873
Wardensville
1835–today
18201920today
Gone or out of use
Wardensville High Schoolschool

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

Questions about Wardensville’s history

What year was Wardensville founded?

In 1832, according to Wikidata. Wardensville’s post office opened in 1824, and the census of 1880 counted 123 people here.

What is on the National Register in Wardensville?

Two places: the Francis Kotz Farm (listed 2008) and the Nicholas Switzer House (2008).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (11), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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.