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History · Elizabeth

Elizabeth dates to 1796, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

4 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1906 on, and the census since 1880.

1796founded
4on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Elizabeth began

When was Elizabeth founded?

1796

Elizabeth dates its founding to 1796 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 395 in 18802020 census: 724230 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1815.The full story ↓

What stands out about Elizabeth’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 994 in 2000; 724 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19064 editions of the USGS map, 1906 to 1975. Watch Elizabeth change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1796: 230 years of Elizabeth.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Elizabeth’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewLarry's Barber Shop: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Elizabeth, census by census

02004006008001,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 994

Peaked at 994 in 2000; 724 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

On the map

Elizabeth on the map, 1906 to 1975

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

Elizabeth on the 1906 USGS mapElizabeth on the 1924 USGS mapElizabeth on the 1957 USGS mapElizabeth on the 1975 USGS map1906Elizabeth 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 Elizabeth.

The story

How Elizabeth came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Elizabeth.

Read it all →

The site of Elizabeth was first settled by William Beauchamp (1743-1808) in 1796 when it was still part of the original, vast Harrison County, Virginia. It was known as "Beauchamp's Mills" until 1817 when it was renamed for Elizabeth (Woodyard) Beauchamp (1780-1838), the wife of William's son David Beauchamp (1776-1828). Elizabeth was chartered by the Virginia General Assembly in 1822 and became the county seat when Wirt County was created in 1848.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Elizabeth, 1796 to 2000

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1796
    FoundingElizabeth is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1815Post officeThe Jacksonville post office opens
  5. 1844Born hereCharles Brooks Smith is born here
  6. 1849Post officeThe Jacksonville post office closes
  7. 1884Post officeThe Elizabeth post office opens
  8. 20th century
  9. 1906On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1978In the archiveLarry's Barber Shop
  11. 21st century
  12. 2000CensusPopulation peaks at 994
By decade

Elizabeth, decade by decade

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

1970s1 item
Larry's Barber Shop1978Larry's Barber Shop
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
Today3 recent
Kanawha Hotel 2012-09-29 18-04-572012Kanawha Hotel 2012-09-29 18-04-57Wirt County Courthouse2006Wirt County CourthouseWVMap-doton-Elizabeth2004WVMap-doton-Elizabeth
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.

Larry's Barber Shop
Retake this viewLarry's Barber Shop, 1978

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

4 historic places in Elizabeth

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
6
each building in a district counts
first listed
1974
Beauchamp-Newman House
Beauchamp-Newman HouseKanawha HotelWirt County CourthouseMineral County Courthouse
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Neo-Classical Revival1
Late Victorian1
Romanesque Revival1
Beauchamp-Newman HouseBuilding
Kanawha HotelBuilding
Wirt County CourthouseNeo-Classical Revival
Mineral County CourthouseLate Victorian

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Elizabeth’s post office has been open since 1884. Another post office, Jacksonville, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Jacksonville
1815–1849
Elizabeth
1884–today
18101920today
Gone or out of use
Elizabeth Grade Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Elizabeth
Beauchamp

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

Questions about Elizabeth’s history

What year was Elizabeth founded?

In 1796, according to Wikidata. Elizabeth’s post office opened in 1815, and the census of 1880 counted 395 people here.

What is on the National Register in Elizabeth?

4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Beauchamp-Newman House (listed 1974, the first). 6 historic buildings in all.

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 (4), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.