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Downing

Ghost town · Warren County, Virginia

Front Royal quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1939, 1:62,500)
Front Royal quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1939, 1:62,500) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Downing is a ghost town in Warren County, Virginia. It is the only former community in Warren County recorded on the federal names register, out of 279 across Virginia.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Downing as a historical populated place on the Front Royal topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 38.8793° N, 78.1756° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleFront Royal
Elevation849 ft
Nearest living townChester Gap, VA
Distance to it3.1 miles
GNIS feature ID1690065
Coordinates38.87928, -78.17556

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Downing is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Chester Gap, VA (population 896), about 3.1 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 849 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.