Wise County, Virginia
Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.
At a glance
SummaryThe National Register of Historic Places includes 22 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1973. Most listings are in or near Big Stone Gap, Appalachia, Wise.
Summary generated automatically from the source data on this page.
Newspapers
Library of CongressNewspaper directory data for Virginia is not yet loaded on this site. Browse Wise titles at the Library of Congress.
National Register of Historic Places
NPS NRHP9 of 22 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.
22 listed properties
| Property | City | Listed |
|---|---|---|
| "June Tolliver" House | Big Stone Gap | 1973 |
| Appalachia Commercial Historic District | Appalachia | 2019 |
| Big Stone Gap Downtown Historic District | Big Stone Gap | 2019 |
| Christ Episcopal Church | Big Stone Gap | 1990 |
| Colonial Hotel | Wise | 1991 |
| Country Cabin | Norton | 1992 |
| Derby Historic District | Appalachia | 2004 |
| Flat Gap High School | Pound | 2009 |
| Fox, John, Jr., House | Big Stone Gap | 1974 |
| Fulton, E.M., House | Wise | 2006 |
| Hotel Norton | Norton | 2002 |
| James A. Bland High School | Big Stone Gap | 2024 |
| Kelly View School | Appalachia | 2006 |
| Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park | Big Stone Gap | 2002 |
| St. Paul Historic District | St. Paul | 2011 |
| Stonega Historic District | Appalachia | 2004 |
| Sunnydale Farm | Pound | 2011 |
| Tacoma School | Coeburn | 1997 |
| Terrace Park Girl Scout Cabin | Big Stone Gap | 2007 |
| U.S. Post Office and Courthouse | Big Stone Gap | 1975 |
| Virginia City Church | St. Paul | 2005 |
| Wise County Courthouse | Wise | 1981 |
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.
County formation
Newberry AHCBWise was formed in 1856 (1856-02-16) from Lee, Russell, Scott.
WISE created from LEE, RUSSELL, and SCOTT.
Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
Population by decade
CensusWise County population from 1860 to 2020 (Census historical series).
| 1860 | 1880 | 1900 | 1920 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4,508 | 7,772 | 19,653 | 46,500 | 52,458 | 56,336 | 43,579 | 43,863 | 40,123 | 36,130 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.
Cemeteries & historical places
USGS GNIS217 cemeteries and 9 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.
Cemeteries — 80 of 217 listed
| Name |
|---|
| Addington Cemetery |
| Addington Cemetery |
| Adkins Cemetery |
| Andover Cemetery |
| Austin Cemetery |
| Baker Cemetery |
| Baker Cemetery |
| Baker Cemetery |
| Banner Cemetery |
| Barker Cemetery |
| Barker Cemetery |
| Bates Cemetery |
| Bellamy Cemetery |
| Bennett Cemetery |
| Bennett Cemetery |
| Berry Cemetery |
| Beverly Cemetery |
| Beverly Cemetery |
| Beverly Cemetery |
| Bevins Cemetery |
| Bevins Cemetery |
| Bickley Cemetery |
| Bickley Cemetery |
| Big Spring Cemetery |
| Black Creek Cemetery |
| Boggs Cemetery |
| Boggs Cemetery |
| Boggs Cemetery |
| Bolling Cemetery |
| Bond Cemetery |
| Bondtown Cemetery |
| Bradley Cemetery |
| Bruce Cemetery |
| Buchanan Cemetery |
| Buchanan Cemetery |
| Burton Cemetery |
| Bush Cemetery |
| Callaham Cemetery |
| Canepatch Cemetery |
| Cantrell Cemetery |
| Cantrell Cemetery |
| Carigo Cemetery |
| Carroll Cemetery |
| Carter Cemetery |
| Carter Cemetery |
| Clark Cemetery |
| Collins Cemetery |
| Cox Cemetery |
| Culbertson Cemetery |
| Dale Cemetery |
| Darter Cemetery |
| Davis Cemetery |
| Dickerson Cemetery |
| Dingus Cemetery |
| Dollarhide Cemetery |
| Donahue Cemetery |
| Dotson Cemetery |
| Dotson Cemetery |
| Dye Cemetery |
| East Stone Gap Cemetery |
| Easterling Cemetery |
| Edwards Cemetery |
| Edwards Cemetery |
| Egan Cemetery |
| Evans Cemetery |
| Exeter Cemetery |
| Franklin Cemetery |
| Freeman Cemetery |
| Freeman Cemetery |
| Funk Cemetery |
| Gardner Cemetery |
| Gardner Cemetery |
| Gibson Cemetery |
| Gibson Cemetery |
| Gilley Cemetery |
| Gilliam Cemetery |
| Gilliam Cemetery |
| Gilliam Cemetery |
| Gilliam Cemetery |
| Gilly Cemetery |
Historical populated places — 9 of 9
| Name |
|---|
| Beechwood |
| Canepatch |
| Clark |
| Clear Creek |
| Lonesome |
| Pardee |
| Pine |
| Short |
| Vane |
Source: USGS Geographic Names Information System (public domain). Cemeteries from the 2021 NationalFile archive; historical places from GNIS HistoricalFeatures topical extract.
Historical markers
HMdb linkMarker 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 Wise County, Virginia
Terms: hmdb.org/copyright.asp. Linking is encouraged by HMdb.