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History · McDowell

McDowell’s post office opened in 1879, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1916 on.

1879first post office
0on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How McDowell began

When was McDowell founded?

1879

The McDowell post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, East McDowell (1945), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 661147 years
Founding year: the first McDowell post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about McDowell’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of McDowell are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19164 editions of the USGS map, 1916 to 1992. Watch McDowell change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start McDowell’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how McDowell’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

McDowell on the map, 1916 to 1992

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of McDowell. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

McDowell on the 1916 USGS mapMcDowell on the 1954 USGS mapMcDowell on the 1979 USGS mapMcDowell on the 1992 USGS map1916Pikeville sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of McDowell.

The story so far

McDowell, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of McDowell yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

McDowell is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Floyd County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 census, McDowell had a population of 661.

Its first post office opened in 1879.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

McDowell, 1879 to 1984

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1879Post officeThe McDowell post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1916On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1945Post officeThe East McDowell post office opens
  6. 1956Born hereKenny Rice is born here
  7. 1984Post officeThe East McDowell post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

McDowell’s post office has been open since 1879. Another post office, East McDowell, opened and closed inside today’s town.

McDowell
1879–today
East McDowell
1945–1984
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
East McDowell

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about McDowell’s history

What year was McDowell founded?

The McDowell post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.