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History · Durbin

Durbin’s post office opened in 1898, and 38% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1922 on and the census since 1910.

1898first post office
0on the National Register
38%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Nyttend · Public domain
Quick answers

How Durbin began

When was Durbin founded?

1898

The Durbin post office opened in 1898, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 390 in 19102020 census: 231128 years
Founding year: the first Durbin post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Durbin’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 Durbin are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 540 in 1950; 231 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Durbin’s homes were built before 1946.On the map since 19223 editions of the USGS map, 1922 to 1995. Watch Durbin change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Durbin’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Durbin’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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People over time

Durbin, census by census

0100200300400500600192019401960198020002020Peak: 540

Peaked at 540 in 1950; 231 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story so far

Durbin, in brief

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

Durbin is a town in Pocahontas County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 235 at the 2020 census. The town was named in 1895 in honor of Charles R. Durbin Sr, the Grafton, WV bank official responsible for lending funds to John T. McGraw to purchase the site of the town in 1890.

Its first post office opened in 1898. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 293 to 231 (-21%).

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

Timeline

Durbin, 1898 to 1950

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1898Post officeThe Durbin post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1922On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 540
By decade

Durbin, decade by decade

Today14 recent
Railroad depot at2016Railroad depot atElk Creek (near2016Elk Creek (nearVintage railroad cars belonging to the Durbin and Greenbrier Valley excursion railroad, outside the depot in the tiny s…2015Vintage railroad cars belonging to the Durbin and Gre…Train depot in the tiny settlement of Durbin, near the headwaters of the Greenbrier River in Pocahontas County, West Vi…2015Train depot in the tiny settlement of Durbin, near th…Streetscape in the tiny settlement of Durbin, near the headwaters of the Greenbrier River in Pocahontas County, West Vi…2015Streetscape in the tiny settlement of Durbin, near th…Streetscape in the tiny settlement of Durbin, near the headwaters of the Greenbrier River in Pocahontas County, West Vi…2015Streetscape in the tiny settlement of Durbin, near th…Streetscape in the tiny settlement of Durbin, near the headwaters of the Greenbrier River in Pocahontas County, West Vi…2015Streetscape in the tiny settlement of Durbin, near th…Durbin WV Milky Way2014Durbin WV Milky WayNumber 3 at Raven Corner2013Number 3 at Raven CornerEngine2013EngineYes, its Real2009Yes, its RealDurbin & Greenbrier Valley RR Station2009Durbin & Greenbrier Valley RR StationDurbin & Greenbrier Valley Cabooses2009Durbin & Greenbrier Valley CaboosesWVMap-doton-Durbin2004WVMap-doton-Durbin
On the map

Durbin on the map, 1922 to 1995

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

Durbin on the 1922 USGS mapDurbin on the 1977 USGS mapDurbin on the 1995 USGS map1922Durbin 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 Durbin.

Famous people

Famous people close to Durbin

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

See all →
W
Will HareAmerican actor · b. 1919
Charles R. HollandUnited States General · b. 1946
Marjorie JoynerAmerican businesswoman and hair care entreprene… · b. 1896
Patricia Kennedy GrimstedHistorian · b. 1935
Robert Lee WolvertonAmerican recipient of the Purple Heart · b. 1914
Howard Hille JohnsonAmerican educator and school founder · b. 1846
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Durbin’s post office has been open since 1898.

Gone or out of use
Durbin Grade Schoolschool

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

Questions about Durbin’s history

What year was Durbin founded?

The Durbin post office opened in 1898, 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 (10), the Library of Congress (4), 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.