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History · Pocahontas

Pocahontas dates to 1881, and 59% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Pocahontas Mine No. 1, a National Historic Landmark, and two historic districts with 19 buildings between them. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1890.

1881founded
2on the National Register
59%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Pocahontas’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Pocahontas began, and where its name came from

When was Pocahontas founded?

1881

Pocahontas dates its founding to 1881 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 2,953 in 18902020 census: 268145 years

How did Pocahontas get its name?

Pocahontas was named for Chief Powhatan's daughter, Pocahontas, who lived in the 17th-century Jamestown Settlement.

Founding year: Wikipedia. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Pocahontas’ past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building7 fire insurance maps, 1893 to 1930, drew every building in Pocahontas.Old housesHalf of Pocahontas’ homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 3,775 in 1920; 268 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Pocahontas’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewAero view of Pocahontas, Va. 1911: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Pocahontas, building by building, 1893–1930

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.

Pocahontas fire insurance map, 1893, sheet 11893Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Pocahontas came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Pocahontas.

Read it all →

Coal was known to exist in the western part of Virginia as early as 1750 when explorer Dr. Thomas Walker observed coal outcrops on Flat Top Mountain in western Virginia. His findings went largely unnoticed for nearly 125 years. In 1861, Confederate Major Jedediah "Jed." Hotchkiss observed the same outcrops while he was a topographical engineer for General Robert E. Lee. In 1873, he hired Isiah Arnold Welch to survey timber and coal in the Flat Top Mountain area. Welch's survey began at the residence of Jordan Nelson, a local blacksmith. In addition to using the coal from a large outcropping on his property, he sold it to people who came to purchase it by the bushel. Locals feared that actively mining the coal would deplete it. When the mine closed in 1955, after 73 years of continuous production, over 44 million tons had been shipped from the mine.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Pocahontas, 1881 to 1994

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1881
    FoundingPocahontas is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1911In the archiveAero view of Pocahontas, Va. 1911
  5. 1911On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1914Born hereHerman Branson is born here
  7. 1915Born hereCharles S. Minter, Jr. is born here
  8. 1919Born hereGeorge F. Barnes is born here
  9. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 3,775
  10. 1924Born hereZollie Toth is born here
  11. 1994LandmarkPocahontas Mine No. 1 named a National Historic Landmark
By decade

Pocahontas, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
Aero view of Pocahontas, Va. 19111911Aero view of Pocahontas, Va. 1911
1920s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today8 recent
Pocahontas VA historical marker2022Pocahontas VA historical markerPocahontas Mine Explosion Memorial2022Pocahontas Mine Explosion MemorialPocahontas Cemetery historical marker2022Pocahontas Cemetery historical markerPocahontas Cemetery View 12022Pocahontas Cemetery View 1Pocahontas, Virginia - 20142014Pocahontas, Virginia - 2014Pocahontas Historical District2014Pocahontas Historical DistrictPocahontas VA Post Office2013Pocahontas VA Post OfficeVAMap-doton-Pocahontas2005VAMap-doton-Pocahontas
On the map

Pocahontas on the map, 1911 to 2001

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

Pocahontas on the 1911 USGS mapPocahontas on the 1924 USGS mapPocahontas on the 1962 USGS mapPocahontas on the 1979 USGS mapPocahontas 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 Pocahontas.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Aero view of Pocahontas, Va. 1911
Retake this viewAero view of Pocahontas, Va. 1911, 1911

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Pocahontas’ page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 listings protect 19 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmark
1
Pocahontas Mine No. 1
historic buildings protected
19
each building in a district counts
first listed
1972
Pocahontas Historic District
Pocahontas Historic DistrictPocahontas Mine No. 1★
Districts★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Queen Anne1
★ Landmark
Pocahontas Mine No. 1District
Pocahontas Historic DistrictQueen Anne

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

People over time

Pocahontas, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 3,775

Peaked at 3,775 in 1920; 268 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Pocahontas

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Herman BransonAmerican physicist · b. 1914
Charles S. Minter, Jr.US Navy vice admiral · b. 1915
Zollie TothAmerican football player · b. 1924
George F. BarnesAmerican politician · b. 1919
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Gone or out of use
Pocahontas Minemine

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Pocahontas’ history

What year was Pocahontas founded?

In 1881, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1890 counted 2,953 people here.

What is on the National Register in Pocahontas?

Two places: the Pocahontas Mine No. 1 (listed 1994) and the Pocahontas Historic District (1972).

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 Wikimedia Commons (9), 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 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.