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History · Chattaroy

Chattaroy’s post office opened in 1903

Most of Chattaroy was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. Below: 6 old photos and papers and maps from 1915 on.

1903first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Chattaroy’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Chattaroy began

When was Chattaroy founded?

1903

The Chattaroy post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 641123 years
Founding year: the first Chattaroy post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Chattaroy’s past

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

On the map since 19154 editions of the USGS map, 1915 to 1992. Watch Chattaroy change.
★ What stands out · On the map

Chattaroy on the map, 1915 to 1992

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

Chattaroy on the 1915 USGS mapChattaroy on the 1954 USGS mapChattaroy on the 1978 USGS mapChattaroy on the 1992 USGS map1915Williamson 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 Chattaroy.

The story so far

Chattaroy, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Chattaroy yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Chattaroy is a census-designated place (CDP) in Mingo County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 641 at the 2020 census (down from 756 at the 2010 census). The community's name is an accurate preservation of the Native American name of the nearby Big Sandy River, Chattaroy.

Its first post office opened in 1903. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 756 to 641 (-15%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Chattaroy, 1903 to 1974

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1903Post officeThe Chattaroy post office opens
  3. 1915On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1974In the archiveAERIAL VIEW OF CHATTAROY, WEST VIRGINIA, NEAR WILLIAMSON SHOWING THE SCHOOL NEAR THE TOP …
By decade

Chattaroy, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1970s6 items
AERIAL VIEW OF CHATTAROY, WEST VIRGINIA, NEAR WILLIAMSON SHOWING THE SCHOOL NEAR THE TOP OF THE PICTURE. THERE IS NO...…1974AERIAL VIEW OF CHATTAROY, WEST VIRGINIA, NEAR WILLIAM…ALLEY BRANCH ROAD WHICH LEADS TO A NEW MINE SITE NEAR CHATTAROY AND WILLIAMSON, WEST VIRGINIA. THERE HAS BEEN SOME... -…1974ALLEY BRANCH ROAD WHICH LEADS TO A NEW MINE SITE NEAR…CHILDREN AT RECESS IN THEIR SCHOOLYARD AT CHATTAROY, WEST VIRGINIA, NEAR WILLIAMSON. THE SCHOOL IS OPERATED BY THE... -…1974CHILDREN AT RECESS IN THEIR SCHOOLYARD AT CHATTAROY, …CHILDREN DURING RECESS AT THE CHATTAROY, WEST VIRGINIA SCHOOL. IN THE BACKGROUND IS A FORMER COMPANY STORE, NOW... - NA…1974CHILDREN DURING RECESS AT THE CHATTAROY, WEST VIRGINI…ONE OF THE ENTRANCES TO CHATTAROY, WEST VIRGINIA, NEAR WILLIAMSON, LEADS PAST A CHURCH OF GOD. THERE ARE MANY SMALL... …1974ONE OF THE ENTRANCES TO CHATTAROY, WEST VIRGINIA, NEA…RECESS AT A SCHOOL IN CHATTAROY, WEST VIRGINIA, NEAR WILLIAMSON, FINDS A GIRL READY TO PLAY SOFTBALL. THE TOWN IS... - …1974RECESS AT A SCHOOL IN CHATTAROY, WEST VIRGINIA, NEAR …
1980s–1990snothing 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
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.

AERIAL VIEW OF CHATTAROY, WEST VIRGINIA, NEAR WILLIAMSON SHOWING THE SCHOOL NEAR THE TOP OF THE PICTURE. THERE IS NO...…
Retake this viewAERIAL VIEW OF CHATTAROY, WEST VIRGINIA, NEAR WILLIAMSON SHOWING THE SCHOOL NEAR THE TOP OF THE PICTURE. THERE IS NO...…, 1974

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Chattaroy

Nobody well known was born in Chattaroy itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Joanne DruAmerican film and television actress · b. 1922
L
Lea Ann ParsleySkeleton racer · b. 1968
M
Michael AmmarMagician · b. 1956
John HendricksAmerican businessman · b. 1952
Devil Anse HatfieldPatriarch of the Hatfield clan · b. 1839
Doc EdwardsAmerican baseball player and coach · b. 1936
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Chattaroy’s post office has been open since 1903.

Gone or out of use
Chattaroy Elementary Schoolschool

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

Help out

Finish Chattaroy’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewAERIAL VIEW OF CHATTAROY, WEST VIRGINIA…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Williamson6 historic placesA

Questions about Chattaroy’s history

What year was Chattaroy founded?

The Chattaroy post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.