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History · Wurtland

Wurtland’s post office opened in 1876, and 10% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the McConnell House, Law Office, and Slave Quarters and the Wurtland Union Church. Below: maps from 1926 on and the census since 1980.

1876first post office
2on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Wurtland began

When was Wurtland founded?

1876

The Wurtland post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1970.

First census: 1,301 in 19802020 census: 983150 years
Founding year: the first Wurtland post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1970.The full story ↓

What stands out about Wurtland’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 Wurtland are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Wurtland’s homes were built before 1963.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wurtland’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Wurtland’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
The story

How Wurtland came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Wurtland.

Read it all →

The Wurtland vicinity was first settled by Alexander Fulton and his family circa 1830. The Fultons then established the Fulton's Forge Works, and the community became known as "Fulton's Forge". In 1823, William Shreve and his family had built a steam furnace nearby, and they named their settlement (the) "Old Steam Furnace". Because neither of the settlements had an acceptable name for a post office, the post office was named "Oil Works" after a local factory that made kerosene. Although the Oil Works post office was established on January 14, 1864, it was closed in 1871. On February 28, 1876, the post office was reestablished as "Wurtland", named after George and Samuel Grandin Wurts who had founded the nearby Pennsylvania and Laurel Furnaces in 1848.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Wurtland, 1833 to 1959

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1833BuiltMcConnell House, Law Office, and Slave Quarters is built
  3. 1876Post officeThe Wurtland post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1926On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1959Post officeThe Wurtland 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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On the map

Wurtland on the map, 1926 to 2002

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

Wurtland on the 1926 USGS mapWurtland on the 1930 USGS mapWurtland on the 1953 USGS mapWurtland on the 1961 USGS mapWurtland on the 1972 USGS mapWurtland on the 1985 USGS mapWurtland on the 2002 USGS map1926Greenup 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 Wurtland.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Wurtland

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1975
McConnell House, Law Office, and Slave Quarters
McConnell House, Law Office, and Slave Quarters, built 1833Wurtland Union Church
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Federal1
Georgian1
Gable-Front1
McConnell House, Law Office, and Slave QuartersFederal · Built 1833
Wurtland Union ChurchGable-Front

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Wurtland, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,400198020002020Peak: 1,301

Between 983 and 1,301 people in every census since 1980.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Wurtland’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Wurtland

Nobody well known was born in Wurtland itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Billy Ray CyrusAmerican country singer and actor · b. 1961
G
Gina HaspelAmerican intelligence officer · b. 1956
Trace CyrusAmerican musician · b. 1989
Michael W. SmithAmerican musician and songwriter · b. 1957
Naomi JuddAmerican singer and actress · b. 1946
Jillian HallAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1980
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Wurtland had its own post office from 1876 to 1959.

Wurtland
1876–1959
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Raceland Junction
1cemetery inside Wurtland
Cochran

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

WorthingtonIts storyC−RacelandIts storyDGreenup11 historic placesA

Questions about Wurtland’s history

What year was Wurtland founded?

The Wurtland post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1970.

What is on the National Register in Wurtland?

Two places: the McConnell House, Law Office, and Slave Quarters (listed 1975) and the Wurtland Union Church (2008).

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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 the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.