On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cross Lanes is more historic than 7% of U.S. towns, #58 of 61 in West Virginia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cross Lanes’ 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 Cross Lanes’ 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 two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±1.2 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: our sources. 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 Cross Lanes’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Cross Lanes. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1909Saint Albans 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 Cross Lanes.
The story so far
Cross Lanes, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Cross Lanes yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Cross Lanes is a census-designated place (CDP) and suburb of Charleston in Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 9,727 (down from 9,995 at the 2010 census). An EF2 tornado struck and heavily damaged the north side of town on April 2, 2024.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 9,995 to 9,727 (-3%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Cross Lanes, 1891 to 1926
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Cross Lanes is more historic than 7% of U.S. towns, #58 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.
How old are the homes in Cross Lanes?
1% of Cross Lanes’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.2 points), against a typical 13% for a West Virginia town; the median home was built in 1975.
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), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
2021
2021
2017