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Cranks

Ghost town · Louisa County, Virginia

Columbia quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1960, 1:62,500)
Columbia quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1960, 1:62,500) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Cranks is a ghost town in Louisa County, Virginia. It is one of 11 former communities in Louisa County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 2nd among the 90 Virginia counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Cranks as a historical populated place on the Zion Crossroads 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 37.9663° N, 78.1356° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleZion Crossroads
Elevation403 ft
Nearest living townLouisa, VA
Distance to it8.2 miles
GNIS feature ID1494680
Coordinates37.96625, -78.13556

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Cranks is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Louisa, VA (population 2,249), about 8.2 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 403 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Cranks?

Cranks is in Louisa County, Virginia, at 37.9663, -78.1356.

How many ghost towns are in Louisa County?

Louisa County, Virginia has 11 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.

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.