County Past
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Hanover County, Virginia

Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.

—newspaper titles
—digitized titles
46historic places
—earliest paper
1721formed
109,979pop. 2020
21cemeteries
10CW battlefields

At a glance

Summary

The National Register of Historic Places includes 46 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1966; 3 are also National Historic Landmarks. Most listings are in or near Mechanicsville, Ashland, Doswell.

Summary generated automatically from the source data on this page.

Newspapers

Library of Congress

Newspaper directory data for Virginia is not yet loaded on this site. Browse Hanover titles at the Library of Congress.

National Register of Historic Places

NPS NRHP

13 of 46 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.

46 listed properties
PropertyCityTypeListed
Ashland Historic DistrictAshlandDistrict1983
Ashland UDC Jefferson Davis Highway MarkerGlen AllenObject2013
Beaverdam DepotBeaverdamBuilding1988
Berkleytown Historic DistrictAshlandDistrict2022
Brown Grove Rural Historic DistrictAshlandDistrict2023
Church QuarterDoswellBuilding2000
Clover LeaMechanicsvilleBuilding1979
Cold Harbor National CemeteryMechanicsvilleSite1995
Cool WellMechanicsvilleBuilding2007
DewberryBeaverdamBuilding1996
EllingtonDoswellDistrict2019
Fork ChurchAshlandBuilding1970
Hanover County Courthouse NHLHanover Court HouseBuilding1969
Hanover County Courthouse Historic DistrictHanoverDistrict1971
Hanover Meeting HouseMechanicsvilleSite1991
Hanover TownMechanicsvilleSite1974
Hanover WaysideHanoverDistrict2002
Hickory HillAshlandBuilding1974
Hickory Hill Slave and African American Cemetery (Additional Documentation)AshlandSite2020
Immanuel Episcopal ChurchMechanicsvilleBuilding1996
Laurel MeadowMechanicsvilleBuilding1995
Little River UDC Jefferson Davis Highway MarkerDoswellObject2018
Macmurdo HouseAshlandBuilding2021
Montpelier Historic DistrictMontpelierDistrict2002
Oak ForestMechanicsvilleBuilding1999
OaklandMontpelierBuilding1974
Oakley HillMechanicsvilleBuilding1994
Patrick Henry's Birthplace Archeological SiteStudleySite1982
Pine SlashStudleyBuilding1987
Randolph-Macon College BuildingsAshlandBuilding1979
Richmond National Battlefield ParkRichmondDistrict1966
Ruffin, Edmund, Plantation NHLRichmondDistrict1966
Rural PlainsMechanicsvilleBuilding1975
Scotchtown NHLAshlandBuilding1966
SelwynMechanicsvilleBuilding2003
Sharp's OaklandDoswellBuilding2002
Slash ChurchAshlandBuilding1972
Spring GreenMechanicsvilleBuilding2002
SpringfieldCoatesvilleBuilding1994
St. Paul's Episcopal ChurchHanoverBuilding1994
Sycamore TavernMontpelierBuilding1974
Tavern at Old Church, TheMechanicsvilleBuilding2016
TotomoiStudleyBuilding1976
Trinity ChurchBeaverdamBuilding1990
Virginia Industrial Home School for Colored GirlsMechanicsvilleDistrict2016
WilliamsvilleStudleyBuilding1985

Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.

County formation

Newberry AHCB

Hanover was formed in 1721 (1721-05-01) from New Kent.

HANOVER created from NEW KENT.

Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

Population by decade

Census

Hanover County population from 1790 to 2020 (Census historical series).

110k62k14k179018001840188019101920196020002020
17901800182018401860188019001920194019501960198020002020
14,75414,40315,26714,96817,22218,58817,61818,08818,50021,98527,55050,39886,320109,979

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.

Cemeteries & historical places

USGS GNIS

21 cemeteries and 2 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.

Cemeteries — 21 of 21 listed
NameLatLon
Abraham Cemetery37.64903-77.36525
Beulah Cemetery37.5993-77.27831
Chestnut Grove Baptist Church Cemetery37.69333-77.30121
Cold Harbor National Cemetery37.5893-77.27998
Cool Spring Cemetery37.65762-77.40873
Enon Cemetery37.67586-77.31138
Gethsemane Cemetery37.63458-77.27553
Lewiston Cemetery37.72847-77.44554
Little Bethel Methodist Church Cemetery37.79271-77.499
Mount Hermon Cemetery37.74301-77.43634
New Bethesda Church Cemetery37.64439-77.25657
Providence Baptist Church Cemetery37.76597-77.43609
Rock Hill Cemetery37.58486-77.25025
Roselawn Memory Gardens37.70097-77.5561
Saint Peters Cemetery37.77451-77.63997
Second Union Cemetery37.67694-77.28792
Signal Hill Memorial Park37.74385-77.35687
Walnut Grove Cemetery37.60083-77.33525
Winns Cemetery37.71125-77.5272
Woodland Cemetery37.75602-77.49434
Zion Cemetery37.63982-77.33096
Historical populated places — 2 of 2
NameLatLon
Pamunkey37.66931-77.20414
Snelson37.97458-77.69304

Source: USGS Geographic Names Information System (public domain). Cemeteries from the 2021 NationalFile archive; historical places from GNIS HistoricalFeatures topical extract.

Civil War battlefields nearby

ABPP

American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) Civil War study areas near this county.

BattlefieldStudy acresDist.Site ID
Yellow Tavern2,54311.4 kmVA052
Hanover Courthouse3,52411.8 kmVA013
North Anna14,02213.7 kmVA055
Totopotomy Creek/Bethesda Church28,12817.2 kmVA057
Haw'S Shop1,19018.2 kmVA058
Beaver Dam Creek14,14819.4 kmVA016
Old Church1,25427.4 kmVA059
Cold Harbor16,05127.5 kmVA062
Gaines' Mill6,58327.7 kmVA017
Garnett'S & Golding'S Farm4,55328.2 kmVA018

Source: NPS American Battlefield Protection Program Civil War Study Areas (public ArcGIS feature service).

Historical markers

HMdb link

Marker text and photos from the Historical Marker Database (HMdb) are not embedded here. HMdb allows non-commercial reuse with attribution, but commercial/compensated use needs written permission; this is a commercial site, so we only link out.

Search HMdb for Hanover County, Virginia

Terms: hmdb.org/copyright.asp. Linking is encouraged by HMdb.