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History · Delbarton

Delbarton’s post office opened in 1924

Most of Delbarton was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Below: maps from 1917 on and the census since 1950.

1924first post office
0on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Magnolia677 · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Delbarton began

When was Delbarton founded?

1924

The Delbarton post office opened in 1924, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Burch (1880), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 1,353 in 19502020 census: 422102 years
Founding year: the first Delbarton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Delbarton’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 Delbarton are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19174 editions of the USGS map, 1917 to 1976. Watch Delbarton change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Delbarton’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Delbarton on the map, 1917 to 1976

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

Delbarton on the 1917 USGS mapDelbarton on the 1928 USGS mapDelbarton on the 1963 USGS mapDelbarton on the 1976 USGS map1917Matewan 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 Delbarton.

The story

How Delbarton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Delbarton.

Read it all →

Delbarton was incorporated September 6, 1946, by the Mingo County Circuit Court.

The name Delbarton comes from the New Jersey country estate of Luther Kountze, a Wall Street financier and part owner of the United Thacker Land Company, a large coal mining company. Currently a Catholic high school with the same moniker, the Delbarton School, is located on this site. The estate and town and school all derive their name from a portmanteau of syllables in the names of Kountze's three children (DELancey, BARclay and LivingsTON).

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Delbarton, 1880 to 1924

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880Post officeThe Burch post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1917On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1924Post officeThe Burch post office closes
  6. 1924Post officeThe Delbarton post office opens
By decade

Delbarton, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Delbarton, West Virginia2014Delbarton, West VirginiaOld-burch-high-school-1024x4862013Old-burch-high-school-1024x486WVMap-doton-Delbarton2004WVMap-doton-Delbarton
People over time

Delbarton, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001960198020002020Peak: 1,353

Between 422 and 1,353 people in every census since 1950.

8 censuses, 1950–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Delbarton’s post office has been open since 1924. Another post office, Burch, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Burch
1880–1924
Delbarton
1924–today
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Burch
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Delbarton
FarleyMarcumWilliams

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

Questions about Delbarton’s history

What year was Delbarton founded?

The Delbarton post office opened in 1924, 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 (3), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.