The story
Read it all →How West Mineral came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of West Mineral.
West Mineral was named from the coal mines found there. A post office was established in West Mineral in 1899.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo: Anry skyhead · CC BY-SA 4.0–Not graded
History · West Mineral
West Mineral’s post office opened in 1899, and 35% of its homes were built before 1940
Its Register listings are the Big Brutus and the Soffietti-Boccia Grocery Store. Below: maps from 1909 on and the census since 1910.
1899first post office
2on the National Register
35%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Quick answers
How West Mineral began
When was West Mineral founded?
1899
The West Mineral post office opened in 1899, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Mineral (1895), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 1,770 in 19102020 census: 154127 years
Founding year: the first West Mineral post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about West Mineral’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start West Mineral’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how West Mineral’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
West Mineral, 1895 to 1943
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
By decade
West Mineral, decade by decade
2014
2004On the map
West Mineral on the map, 1943 to 1973
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of West Mineral. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1943Cherokee sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of West Mineral.
Every building
West Mineral, building by building, 1909–1915
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1909Sheet 1 of 4Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
On the National Register
2 historic places in West Mineral
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
2017
Soffietti-Boccia Grocery Store
BuildingsObjects
All 2 listings
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
West Mineral, census by census
Between 154 and 1,770 people in every census since 1910.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on West Mineral’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →2 famous people were born in West Mineral
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices and places now gone
West Mineral’s post office has been open since 1899. Another post office, Mineral, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Mineral
West Mineral
18901960today
Gone or out of use
West Mineral Elementary Schoolschool
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about West Mineral’s history
What year was West Mineral founded?
The West Mineral post office opened in 1899, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What is on the National Register in West Mineral?
Two places: the Big Brutus (listed 2018) and the Soffietti-Boccia Grocery Store (2017).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Start a conversation
Sources
Where this page comes from
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (2), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.