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History · Boissevain

Boissevain’s post office opened in 1905, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Capt. James Moore Homestead. Its Register listing is the Capt. James Moore Homestead. Below: maps from 1911 on.

1905first post office
1on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Boissevain began

When was Boissevain founded?

1905

The Boissevain post office opened in 1905, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 457121 years
Founding year: the first Boissevain post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Boissevain’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 Boissevain are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19114 editions of the USGS map, 1911 to 2001. Watch Boissevain change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Boissevain’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Boissevain on the map, 1911 to 2001

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

Boissevain on the 1911 USGS mapBoissevain on the 1924 USGS mapBoissevain on the 1977 USGS mapBoissevain on the 2001 USGS map1911Pocahontas Special 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 Boissevain.

The story so far

Boissevain, in brief

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

Boissevain is an unincorporated community, census-designated place (CDP), and former coal town in Tazewell County, Virginia, United States. It was defined as a census-designated place (then termed an unincorporated place) at the 1950 United States census under the spelling Boissevaine, when it had a population of 1,197. It did not reappear again as a CDP until the 2020 census with a population of 457. In February 1932, 38 men lost their lives in a coal mine explosion. Boissevain is served by the Abbs Valley -Boissevain - Pocahontas Rescue Squad Inc - Rescue 945 for Emergency Medical Services.

Its first post office opened in 1905.

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

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 National Register

1 historic place in Boissevain

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2002
Capt. James Moore Homestead
Capt. James Moore Homestead
Sites
Capt. James Moore HomesteadSite

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Boissevain

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

See all →
John Forbes NashAmerican mathematician and economist · b. 1928
Steve HarveyAmerican television presenter, comedian, actor,… · b. 1957
Norman I. PlatnickAmerican arachnologist · b. 1951
Kathryn HarroldAmerican actress · b. 1950
C
Charlie BarnettAmerican actor and comedian · b. 1954
Fred M. WilcoxAmerican film director · b. 1907

Questions about Boissevain’s history

What year was Boissevain founded?

The Boissevain post office opened in 1905, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Boissevain?

One place: the Capt. James Moore Homestead (listed 2002).

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 (1), 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.