Welcome to Gretna ...
The town of Gretna is located in Pittsylvania County<1>.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Gretna, you might consider that their post office opened in 1912.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Gretna has a population of 1,193 people<2> (see below for details).
Gretna is 830 feet [253 m] above sea level.<3>.
Time Zone: Gretna lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time
The telephone area code for Gretna: (434)
The ZIP code for Gretna: 24557<4>
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Gretna had an population of 1,193 people. This is a decrease of 5.84% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 5.09% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Gretna had a population of 1,267 people. This makes Gretna the county's 3rd most populous community.
The population of Gretna represents 0.02% of the population of Virginia (which has 8,001,024 people), making it the state's 126th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 1,267 people, the population of Gretna has remained roughly the same as the 2000 Census (with a count of 1,257 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Gretna.
Communities Also Named Gretna ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 13 communities that are also named Gretna - they are located in Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Manitoba, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Ontario, Pennsylvania and South Dakota.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Gretna.
Communities near Gretna ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Gretna.
- Radford
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest) - Altavista
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Altavista have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altavista
- Altavista is located in Campbell County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,422 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Altavista <6>
- Chatham
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south) - Hurt
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hurt have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurt
- Hurt is located in Pittsylvania County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,211 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hurt <6>
- Whittles
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittles
- Whittles is located in Pittsylvania County
- Whittles has also been known as:
- Whittle's Depot
- Whittle's Station
- Chalk Level
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalk Level
- Chalk Level is located in Pittsylvania County
- Pittsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsville
- Pittsville is located in Pittsylvania County
- Sonans
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast) - Brutus
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast) - Markham
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Markham
- Markham is located in Pittsylvania County
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Gretna. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Gretna.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Gretna. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Gretna.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Gretna. See our Newspapers Page for Gretna.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Gretna ...
Looking for more information about Gretna? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Gretna, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Gretna.
Adding Gretna to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Gretna in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Gretna was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<7>
From that list, the Gretna post office opened in 1912.
We also found Gretna on a map titled Shell Oil Road Map for Virginia (1956).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Gretna.
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Gretna. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Pittsylvania County: www.pittgov.org/
The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Virginia's counties, including Pittsylvania, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Gretna. |
| <3> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Gretna - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <4> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a town (such as Gretna). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Gretna or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <5> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <6> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <7> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |