Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 13% of U.S. towns · #54 of 61 in West Virginia. What drives it
Most of Blennerhassett was built recently: 0.9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. Below: maps from 1904 on and the census since 2000.
The Blennerhassett post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 13% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Blennerhassett is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns, #54 of 61 in West Virginia. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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 Blennerhassett’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.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Blennerhassett’s history is told.
Blennerhassett had its own post office from 1887 to 1908.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikipedia’s history of Blennerhassett.
This community is named after Blennerhassett Island, an island in the Ohio River near the area. The island's name originated from the owner of the island in the 19th century: Harman Blennerhassett, an Anglo-Irish immigrant to the United States.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Blennerhassett. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Blennerhassett.
Between 3,089 and 3,225 people in every census since 2000.
3 censuses, 2000–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Blennerhassett’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Blennerhassett itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Blennerhassett post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Blennerhassett is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns, #54 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.
0.9% of Blennerhassett’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.4 points), against a typical 13% for a West Virginia town; the median home was built in 1974.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (3), 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.
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