History · Benwood

Benwood’s post office opened in 1853, and 40% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 51% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1902 on, and the census since 1890.

1853first post office

0on the National Register

40%homes built before 1940

1old photo or paper

1famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Benwood’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Benwood began

When was Benwood founded?

1853

The Benwood post office opened in 1853, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 2,934 in 18902020 census: 1,252173 years

How historic is Benwood?

B⁻

More historic than 51% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: the first Benwood post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Benwood’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Benwood is more historic than 51% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B⁻

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Benwood’s overall grade.

Founding era1853, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC⁺Homes built before 194040.4% of homes (±6.8) · typical WV town 13.0% · U.S. 8.4%A National RegisterNo listings counted · typical WV town 29.6 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C⁻

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 51%

NewerOlder

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 Benwood’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (17% of West Virginia towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.8 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Benwood’s 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.On the map since 19028 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1994. Watch Benwood change.Boom and bustPeaked at 4,976 in 1910; 1,252 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Benwood’s homes were built before 1945.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Benwood’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2 Retake an old viewBaltimore & Ohio Railroad: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

On the map

Benwood on the map, 1902 to 1994

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

1902Wheeling 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 Benwood.

People over time

Benwood, census by census

Peaked at 4,976 in 1910; 1,252 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

The story

How Benwood came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Benwood.

Read it all →

Benwood was chartered in 1853 and incorporated in 1895. The name of the city is derived from "Ben's Woods", as Benjamin McMechen inherited that portion of land from the estate of his father, William McMechen, and built his homestead upon it. The neighboring city of McMechen is named after William McMechen and his family, who were among the earliest settlers of this area.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Benwood, 1853 to 1910

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

19th century
1853Post officeThe Benwood post office opens
1876Born hereHarry Ford Sinclair is born here
20th century
1902On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1910CensusPopulation peaks at 4,976

By decade

Benwood, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date

Date?Baltimore & Ohio Railroad

Today1 recent

2004WVMap-doton-Benwood

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.

Retake this viewBaltimore & Ohio Railroad

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

Retake this view · +15

Places that used to be

Old corners and places now gone

Benwood’s post office has been open since 1853.

Hamlets and corners on the map

Benwood JunctionUpper Benwood

Gone or out of use

Union High Schoolschool

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.

McMechen1 historic placeA⁻Wheeling46 historic placesA⁺

Questions about Benwood’s history

What year was Benwood founded?

The Benwood post office opened in 1853, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Benwood rank for history?

Benwood is more historic than 51% of U.S. towns. 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.

How old are the homes in Benwood?

40% of Benwood’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.8 points), against a typical 13% for a West Virginia town; the median home was built in 1945.

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 (1), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), 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) 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.

Post to Benwood

Check your email