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Welcome to Alton ...

Alton is located in Halifax County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Alton, you might consider that their post office opened  in 1890.

When the people of Alton refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Altonian<2>

Alton is 580 feet [177 m] above sea level.<3>.

Time Zone: Alton lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Code for Alton: 434

The ZIP code for Alton: 24520<4>

Communities Also Named Alton ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 37 communities that are also named Alton - they are located in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia (2), Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas (3), Kentucky, Louisiana (2), Maine, Michigan (2), Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nova Scotia, Ohio, Ontario (3), Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas (2), Utah and West Virginia.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Alton.

Websites for Alton ...

Chamber of Commerce:   www.halifaxchamber.net/

Although we don't have any websites that are specific to Alton, the following might be of interest:

Communities near Alton ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Alton.

  • Roxboro
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Roxboro. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxboro
    • Roxboro is located in Person County (NC)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,383 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Roxboro <6>
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Roxboro
    • From Alton to Roxboro
  • South Boston
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Halifax
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Milton
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Milton have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton
    • Milton is located in Caswell County (NC)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 146 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Milton <6>
  • Virgilina
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Scottsburg
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scottsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scottsburg
    • Scottsburg is located in Fluvanna County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 126 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Scottsburg <6>
  • Cluster Springs
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Mayo
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mayo. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayo
    • Mayo is located in Halifax County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Mayo
    • From Alton to Mayo
  • Delila
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Delila. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delila
    • Delila is located in Halifax County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Delila
    • From Alton to Delila
  • Ceffo
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ceffo. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceffo
    • Ceffo is located in Person County (NC)
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Ceffo
    • From Alton to Ceffo

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 Alton. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Alton.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Alton. 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 Alton.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Alton. See our Newspapers Page for Alton.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Alton ...

Looking for more information about Alton? 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 Alton, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Alton.

Adding Alton to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Alton 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 Alton was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<8>

X2X - From that list, the Alton post office opened in 1890.

We also found Alton in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Alton.

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Alton. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

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 Halifax, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Alton refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a community's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Alton may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different.
<3>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Alton - 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 community (such as Alton). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Alton or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).
<5>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<6>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<7>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.
<8>A copy of their list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 18 Apr 2025