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History · Davy

Davy’s post office opened in 1911, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1912 on and the census since 1950.

1911first post office
0on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Magnolia677 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Davy began

When was Davy founded?

1911

The Davy post office opened in 1911, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Hallsville (1891), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 1,650 in 19502020 census: 209115 years
Founding year: the first Davy post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Davy’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Davy are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19124 editions of the USGS map, 1912 to 1976. Watch Davy change.Old housesHalf of Davy’s homes were built before 1958.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Davy’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Davy’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Davy on the map, 1912 to 1976

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

Davy on the 1912 USGS mapDavy on the 1924 USGS mapDavy on the 1968 USGS mapDavy on the 1976 USGS map1912Welch 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 Davy.

The story so far

Davy, in brief

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

Davy is a town in McDowell County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 209 at the 2020 census, down from 420 at the 2010 census. Founded in 1873, the town was originally called Hallsville but the name would change to Davy by 1901. Davy was officially incorporated in 1948. It is a mostly residential community in a coal mining district along the main line of the Norfolk Southern Railway.

Its first post office opened in 1911. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 420 to 209 (-50%).

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

Timeline

Davy, 1891 to 1990

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1891Post officeThe Hallsville post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1911Post officeThe Hallsville post office closes
  5. 1911Post officeThe Davy post office opens
  6. 1912On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1990Post officeThe Davy post office closes
By decade

Davy, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Davy, West Virginia2014Davy, West VirginiaWVMap-doton-Davy2004WVMap-doton-Davy
Every building

Davy, building by building, 1923

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 sheet.

Davy fire insurance map, 1923, sheet 11923Sheet 1 of 1
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

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

People over time

Davy, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001,8001960198020002020Peak: 1,650

Between 209 and 1,650 people in every census since 1950.

8 censuses, 1950–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Davy

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

See all →
Steve HarveyAmerican television presenter, comedian, actor,… · b. 1957
Heath SlaterAmerican professional wrestler and actor · b. 1983
Mike D'AntoniAmerican-Italian basketball player and coach · b. 1951
K
Karen AustinAmerican actress · b. 1950
Christy MartinAmerican boxer · b. 1968
J
Jerome AndersonAmerican basketball player-coach · b. 1953
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Davy had its own post office from 1911 to 1990. Another post office, Hallsville, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hallsville
1891–1911
Davy
1911–1990
18901960today

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

Questions about Davy’s history

What year was Davy founded?

The Davy post office opened in 1911, 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 (2), 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.