Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Bluefield

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
A−History
History · Bluefield

Bluefield’s post office opened in 1886, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 82% of U.S. towns · #22 of 61 in West Virginia. What drives it

11 places in town are on the National Register, among them six historic districts with 310 buildings between them. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 1890.

1886first post office
11on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
28famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Bluefield’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Bluefield began

When was Bluefield founded?

1886

The Bluefield post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Bethel (1847), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 1,775 in 18902020 census: 9,658140 years

How historic is Bluefield?

A−

More historic than 82% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Bluefield post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Bluefield’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bluefield is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #22 of 61 in West Virginia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bluefield’s overall grade.
Founding era1886, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194030.4% of homes (±5.0) · typical WV town 13.0% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register11 listings, 317 historic buildings, 338 per 10,000 residents · typical WV town 29.6 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 82%
NewerOlder
West Virginia towns of 2,500+ (61)Ahead of 65%

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 Bluefield’s 338 sits above most of its state (81% of West Virginia towns have fewer) while its 317 historic buildings outnumber those of 95% of U.S. towns.

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 (±5.0 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 Bluefield’s past

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

A historic districtThe South Bluefield Historic District takes in 84 historic buildings.Mapped building by building7 fire insurance maps, 1893 to 1922, drew every building in Bluefield.Boom and bustPeaked at 21,506 in 1950; 9,658 people lived here in 2020.Landmarks on the Register11 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

11 listings protect 317 historic buildings

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

places listed
11
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
317
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Municipal Building
Municipal BuildingHancock HouseEasley HouseBluefield Downtown Commercial Historic DistrictJefferson Street Historic DistrictSouth Bluefield Historic DistrictUpper Oakhurst Historic DistrictCountry Club Hill Historic DistrictPresident's House, Bluefield State CollegeFirst Baptist Church of BluefieldBluefield Green Book Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Colonial Revival5
Neo-Classical Revival3
Bungalow3
Tudor Revival2
Art Deco2
Four Square2
Municipal BuildingNeo-Classical Revival
Hancock HouseAmerican Foursquare
Easley HouseTudor Revival
All 11 listings
Bluefield Downtown Commercial Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1987Jefferson Street Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1992South Bluefield Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1992Upper Oakhurst Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1992Country Club Hill Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1992President's House, Bluefield State CollegeBuilding · listed 1999First Baptist Church of BluefieldBuilding · listed 2023Bluefield Green Book Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2024

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

Every building

Bluefield, building by building, 1893–1922

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 year, then a sheet.

Bluefield fire insurance map, 1893, sheet 11893Sheet 1 of 4
Edition
BrickWoodStone

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

People over time

Bluefield, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 21,506

Peaked at 21,506 in 1950; 9,658 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

The story

How Bluefield came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bluefield.

Read it all →

The history of Bluefield began in the 18th century, when the Davidson and Bailey families settled in a rugged and remote part of what is now southern West Virginia. Others joined them, and they built a small village with a mill, a church, a one-room schoolhouse, and a fort for defending the settlement against invasions by the Shawnee tribe, which had a village on the banks of the Bluestone River.

ChaptersCoal rush20th century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bluefield, 1847 to 1981

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1847Post officeThe Bethel post office opens
  3. 1886Post officeThe Bluefield post office opens
  4. 1892In the archiveRev. William Hullihen Burkhardt
  5. 1892Born hereLuke Jordan is born here
  6. 20th century
  7. 1900In the archiveCoal mining scene, near Bluefield, West Virginia, showing four men with railcar full of c…
  8. 1905Post officeThe Bethel post office closes
  9. 1912In the archiveB.E. view of Bluefields [sic], W. Va
  10. 1916On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1928Born hereJohn Forbes Nash is born here
  12. 1930In the archivePete's Grill, Lower College Avenue, Bluefield, West Virginia (81630)
  13. 1941In the archiveBackyard of miner's home near Bluefield, West Virginia
  14. 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 21,506
  15. 1951Born hereNorman I. Platnick is born here
  16. 1954Born hereCharlie Barnett is born here
  17. 1981In the archiveWV Bluefield 701692 1981 100000 geo-1
By decade

Bluefield, decade by decade

7 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s–1910s6 items
Rev. William Hullihen Burkhardt1892Rev. William Hullihen BurkhardtCoal mining scene, near Bluefield, West Virginia, showing four men with railcar full of coal, at entrance of mine1900Coal mining scene, near Bluefield, West Virginia, sho…Church and Rectory, Bluefield, W.V1902Church and Rectory, Bluefield, W.VB.E. view of Bluefields [sic], W. Va1912B.E. view of Bluefields [sic], W. VaFlat Top Yard1915Flat Top YardDisplay Red Cross1917Display Red Cross
1930s–1940s2 items
Pete's Grill, Lower College Avenue, Bluefield, West Virginia (81630)c. 1930Pete's Grill, Lower College Avenue, Bluefield, West V…Backyard of miner's home near Bluefield, West Virginia1941Backyard of miner's home near Bluefield, West Virginia
1950s–1970snothing 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
1980s–1990s4 items
WV Bluefield 701692 1981 100000 geo-11981WV Bluefield 701692 1981 100000 geo-1DETAIL OF CONCRETE PARAPET ALONG SOUTHERN APPROACH. FACING SOUTHEAST. - Easley Bridge, Spanning Norfolk Southern Corpor…1997DETAIL OF CONCRETE PARAPET ALONG SOUTHERN APPROACH. F…DETAIL OF TRUSS MANUFACTURERS' PLAQUE. - Easley Bridge, Spanning Norfolk Southern Corporation railroad tracks on Poplar…1997DETAIL OF TRUSS MANUFACTURERS' PLAQUE. - Easley Bridg…DETAIL VIEW, PONY STEEL TRUSS, SHOWING RIVETED UPPER BRIDGE CHORD, DIAGONALS AND GUSSET PLATE. FACING WEST. - Easley Br…1997DETAIL VIEW, PONY STEEL TRUSS, SHOWING RIVETED UPPER …
On the map

Bluefield on the map, 1916 to 1979

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

Bluefield on the 1916 USGS mapBluefield on the 1924 USGS mapBluefield on the 1962 USGS mapBluefield on the 1979 USGS map1916Bluefield 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 Bluefield.

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.

Rev. William Hullihen Burkhardt
Retake this viewRev. William Hullihen Burkhardt, 1892

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

28 famous people were born in Bluefield

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

See all →
John Forbes NashAmerican mathematician and economist · b. 1928
Norman I. PlatnickAmerican arachnologist · b. 1951
C
Charlie BarnettAmerican actor and comedian · b. 1954
L
Luke JordanAmerican blues guitarist and vocalist · b. 1892
Evans EvansAmerican actress · b. 1932
M
Maceo PinkardAmerican composer, lyricist, and music publisher · b. 1897
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Bluefield’s post office has been open since 1886. Another post office, Bethel, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Bethel
1847–1905
Bluefield
1886–today
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BethelCumberland HeightsSouth Bluefield
Gone or out of use
Bailey SchoolschoolBluefield SanitariumhospitalCentral Junior High SchoolschoolChurch of the NazarenechurchCumberland Heights Elementary SchoolschoolEast End SchoolschoolFairview SchoolschoolGenoa SchoolschoolHancock SchoolschoolJones SchoolschoolLawson Street SchoolschoolPark Central High SchoolschoolPreston Street SchoolschoolRamsey Elementary SchoolschoolSaint Marys HospitalhospitalStinson SchoolschoolWade Elementary SchoolschoolWindy Mountain Learning Centerschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Bluefield
Maple ParkWalnut Grove

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Bluefield’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
6 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewRev. William Hullihen Burkhardt: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Bluefield’s history

What year was Bluefield founded?

The Bluefield post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Bluefield rank for history?

Bluefield is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #22 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 Bluefield?

11 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Municipal Building (listed 1979, the first), and 6 historic districts with 310 contributing buildings. 317 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Bluefield?

30% of Bluefield’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.0 points), against a typical 13% for a West Virginia town; the median home was built in 1953.

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 (8), the Library of Congress (4), the National Register of Historic Places (11), 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.