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A−History
History · Barboursville

Barboursville dates to 1813, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 80% of U.S. towns · #25 of 61 in West Virginia. What drives it

3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 20 buildings. Below: maps from 1901 on and the census since 1860.

1813founded
3on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Barboursville began

When was Barboursville founded?

1813

Barboursville dates its founding to 1813 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1860.

First census: 341 in 18602020 census: 4,456213 years

How historic is Barboursville?

A−

More historic than 80% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1882.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Barboursville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Barboursville is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #25 of 61 in West Virginia. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Barboursville’s overall grade.
Founding era1813, from Wikipedia: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194012.6% of homes (±6.5) · typical WV town 13.0% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register3 listings, 26 historic buildings, 59.4 per 10,000 residents · typical WV town 29.6 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 80%
NewerOlder
West Virginia towns of 2,500+ (61)Ahead of 60%

West Virginia towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical West Virginia town has 29.6 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Barboursville’s 59.4 sits above most of its state (68% of West Virginia towns have fewer) while its 26 historic buildings outnumber those of 81% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1813.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.5 points).

Founding year: Wikipedia (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Barboursville’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 Barboursville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19015 editions of the USGS map, 1901 to 1985. Watch Barboursville change.A historic districtThe Barboursville Historic District takes in 20 historic buildings.Deep rootsEstablished in 1813: 213 years of Barboursville.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Barboursville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Barboursville’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

Barboursville on the map, 1901 to 1985

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

Barboursville on the 1901 USGS mapBarboursville on the 1957 USGS mapBarboursville on the 1968 USGS mapBarboursville on the 1975 USGS mapBarboursville on the 1985 USGS map1901Guyandot 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 Barboursville.

On the National Register

3 listings protect 26 historic buildings

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
26
each building in a district counts
first listed
1991
Thornburg House
Thornburg HouseBarboursville Historic DistrictGeorge McComas House
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Queen Anne1
Classical Revival1
Late 19th and 20th Century American Movements: Commercial Style1
Thornburg HouseQueen Anne
Barboursville Historic DistrictClassical Revival
All 3 listings
George McComas HouseBuilding · listed 2026

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

The story

How Barboursville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Barboursville.

Read it all →

Barboursville was platted in 1813. Barboursville was then chartered in 1813 and incorporated in 1867.

The Barboursville Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008. The Thornburg House was separately listed in 1991. Barboursville also contains the historic Miller House, a building constructed in 1835 by local pioneer William Clendenin Miller, grandson of Major George Clendenin, who served under Lt. Colonel Daniel Boone in the 1774 Battle of Point Pleasant, and along with Boone was the first representative of Kanawha County.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Barboursville, 1813 to 1977

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1813
    FoundingBarboursville is established
  3. 1875Born hereGrace Golden Clayton is born here
  4. 1882Post officeThe Barboursville post office opens
  5. 1891Born hereGeorge Baumgardner is born here
  6. 20th century
  7. 1901On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1916Born hereCatherine Shipe East is born here
  9. 1977Born hereJason Starkey is born here
By decade

Barboursville, decade by decade

Today18 recent
2017-07-22 20 15 31 View south along West Virginia State Route 193 (Big Ben Bowen Highway) at Merrick Creek Road (Cabel…20172017-07-22 20 15 31 View south along West Virginia St…This old tollhouse on Main Street2015This old tollhouse on Main StreetA carved sandstone block in a corner of this long structure, the 1906 Cabell Building2015A carved sandstone block in a corner of this long str…The 1852 Miller House2015The 1852 Miller HouseThe 1854 Miller-Thornburg store2015The 1854 Miller-Thornburg storeThe Barboursville, West Virginia, Convention & Visitors' Bureau maintains offices in this Victorian mansion on Main Str…2015The Barboursville, West Virginia, Convention & Visito…This old tollhouse on Main Street in Barboursville, West Virginia, took payments along the land portion of the old, 180…2015This old tollhouse on Main Street in Barboursville, W…The Barboursville, West Virginia, Convention & Visitors' Bureau maintains offices in this Victorian mansion on Main Str…2015The Barboursville, West Virginia, Convention & Visito…The 1854 Miller-Thornburg store in Barboursville, West Virginia, originally known as the Thornburg & Miller General Sto…2015The 1854 Miller-Thornburg store in Barboursville, Wes…The 1852 Miller House in Barboursville, West Virginia, was likely the home of a local businessman, since it bears the s…2015The 1852 Miller House in Barboursville, West Virginia…THORNBURG HOUSE2015THORNBURG HOUSEA carved sandstone block in a corner of this long structure, the 1906 Cabell Building in Barboursville, West Virginia, …2015A carved sandstone block in a corner of this long str…Ohio River at Proctorville, Ohio and2014Ohio River at Proctorville, Ohio andOhio River at Proctorville, Ohio and2014Ohio River at Proctorville, Ohio andOhio River at Proctorville, Ohio and2014Ohio River at Proctorville, Ohio andBarboursville West Virginia2007Barboursville West VirginiaWVMap-doton-Barboursville2004WVMap-doton-BarboursvilleBarboursville WV 2000 Census reference map2000Barboursville WV 2000 Census reference mapMap
Every building

Barboursville, building by building, 1922

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 sheet.

Barboursville fire insurance map, 1922, sheet 11922Sheet 1 of 3
BrickWoodStone

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

People over time

Barboursville, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5001900195020004,456

Grew from 341 people in 1860 to 4,456 in 2020, more than tenfold.

16 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Barboursville

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

See all →
Catherine Shipe EastAmerican government researcher and feminist · b. 1916
George BaumgardnerMajor League Baseball pitcher · b. 1891
Grace Golden ClaytonFirst person to suggest Fathers' Day · b. 1875
J
Jason StarkeyAmerican football center · b. 1977
W
Wayne ChapmanAmerican football player and coach · b. 1937
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Barboursville’s post office has been open since 1882.

Gone or out of use
Barboursville Elementary SchoolschoolBarboursville Elementary SchoolschoolBarboursville High SchoolschoolBarboursville State HospitalhospitalKnob Hill Golf Clublocale
1cemetery inside Barboursville
White Chapel Memorial Gardens

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.

Pea RidgeIts storyDHuntington37 historic placesA−

Questions about Barboursville’s history

What year was Barboursville founded?

In 1813, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Barboursville’s post office opened in 1882, and the census of 1860 counted 341 people here.

How does Barboursville rank for history?

Barboursville is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #25 of 61 in West Virginia. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Barboursville?

Three places: the Thornburg House (listed 1991), the Barboursville Historic District (2008) and the George McComas House (2026).

How old are the homes in Barboursville?

13% of Barboursville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.5 points), against a typical 13% for a West Virginia town; the median home was built in 1974.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (13), the Library of Congress (5), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.