Charleston dates to 1786, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 94% of U.S. towns · #8 of 61 in West Virginia. What drives it
57 places in town are on the National Register, among them ten historic districts with 1,741 buildings between them. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1850.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1800.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Charleston’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Charleston is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #8 of 61 in West Virginia. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its age lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Charleston’s overall grade.
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 Charleston’s 382 sits above most of its state (83% of West Virginia towns have fewer) while its 1,812 historic buildings outnumber those of 99% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share (±2.0 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1786.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Charleston’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Airport SchoolschoolBigley SchoolschoolCharleston High SchoolschoolConquerors Christian SchoolschoolFernbank Public SchoolschoolFort Hill Elementary SchoolschoolFort LeemilitaryFort ScammonmilitaryFruth SchoolschoolHillcrest SanitariumhospitalHubbard SchoolschoolJackson High SchoolschoolJefferson Junior High SchoolschoolKanawha County JailbuildingKanawha Valley Memorial HospitalhospitalLincoln SchoolschoolLittlepage SchoolschoolMartin Schoolschool
8cemeteries and burying grounds inside Charleston
AdkinsHessHopeHunt - DonnallyMount JoySaint Matthews ChurchSpring HillSwannor Watts Hill
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
After the American Revolutionary War, pioneers began making their way across the Appalachian Mountains into western Virginia. Virginian militia officer William Morris built the first permanent settlement in the Kanawha Valley, named Fort Morris, in 1773. It was about 20 mi (32 km) upstream of modern Charleston, at the confluence of Kellys Creek, and was used extensively during the American Revolution.
Passages that mention Charleston, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Charleston and Kanawha County, West Virginia1911 · page 165Read the page →
Read the text
Act of Jan. 19, 1818, incorporating the town of Charleston. — "Be it enacted," etc., "that the town of Charleston, in the county of Kanawha, including the same as laid out, including the shores and bank between Front street and Kanawha river, is hereby erected into a town corporate, to be known by the name of Charleston" and provision was made to elect by bal-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Charleston and Kanawha County, West Virginia1911 · page 208Read the page →
Read the text
RAILROADS IN KANAWHA Kanawha and Charleston have numerous railroads, which may be mentioned as the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, the Kanawha and Michigan Railroad, the Virginian Railroad, The Coal and Coke Railroad, the Kanawha and West Virginia Railroad and the Coal River Railroad. The branches of these various rail-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The exact year that Mr. George Clendennin moved upon the land which he purchased from Mr. Bullitt is a matter of uncertainty. It seems to be generally admitted, however, that he was the first settler within the limits of the present city of Charleston, and that it was either in the fall of 1786 or spring of 1787 that he built the fort on the river bank near Brooks’ landing, which took his name. ' This could not have been later than 1787, for the reason that Lewis Tackett settled at the mouth of Coal river during that year, and the year following his home
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Charleston, 1786 to 1966
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Charleston. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1909Charleston 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 Charleston.
Every building
Charleston, building by building, 1884–1912
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.
In 1786, according to Wikidata. Charleston’s post office opened in 1800, and the census of 1850 counted 1,050 people here.
How does Charleston rank for history?
Charleston is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #8 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 Charleston?
57 listings: 47 buildings, among them the Craik-Patton House (listed 1970, the first), and 10 historic districts with 1,741 contributing buildings. 1,812 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Charleston?
26% of Charleston’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.0 points), against a typical 13% for a West Virginia town; the median home was built in 1957.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (57), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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