Fayetteville’s post office opened in 1835, and 8 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 82% of U.S. towns · #23 of 61 in West Virginia. What drives it
Most of Fayetteville was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1968. 8 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 137 buildings between them. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1910 on, and the census since 1900.
From Fayetteville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How Fayetteville began
When was Fayetteville founded?
1835
The Fayetteville post office opened in 1835, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Whitney (1908), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 413 in 19002020 census: 2,887191 years
How historic is Fayetteville?
A−
More historic than 82% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Fayetteville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Fayetteville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fayetteville is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #23 of 61 in West Virginia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Fayetteville’s 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 Fayetteville’s 501 sits above most of its state (86% of West Virginia towns have fewer) while its 141 historic buildings outnumber those of 91% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.2 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). 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 Fayetteville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fayetteville was founded as Vandalia by Abraham Vandall, a Revolutionary War veteran and local farmer, on farmland that Vandall owned. In 1837, the county seat of government was moved from New Haven in the Mountain Cove District to Vandalia. Later, the town's name was changed to Fayetteville after the Revolutionary War hero, Marquis de Lafayette who toured the US in 1824–25.
During the Civil War, the majority of the people in Fayetteville were in sympathy with the Confederacy. With neighboring counties being predominantly Unionist, however, Fayetteville changed hands several times during the war and was partially destroyed during the fighting. (See Battle of Fayetteville)
Passages that mention Fayetteville, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of fayette county west virginia1926 · page 676Read the page →
Read the text
Lansing is located in Mountain Cove magisterial district, about one and a half miles from the main line of the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad at Fayette station, which is its shipping point. It is about seven miles east of Fayetteville, the county seat. It is situated on the Chestnutburg road which extends from the town of Ansted, about six miles to the north, passing through Lansing, and extending on through the farming section of Edmond to the mining town of Winona, about four or five miles to the south east. A
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of fayette county west virginia1926 · page 384Read the page →
Read the text
original Vandal grew cold. Fayette county was named for the gallant Marquis de la Fayette, who helped this country in its struggle for freedom, and sometime after the formation of Fayette, the name of Vandalia was changed to Fayetteville, after the name of the county and in honor of this patriot. This was before 1837, for in Deed Book C, page 592, is found a ‘‘Plan of Fayetteville laid down by Frances Tyree in 1837 for Edward D. Vandal.’’
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Fayetteville, 1835 to 1977
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Fayetteville post office opened in 1835, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Fayetteville rank for history?
Fayetteville is more historic than 82% of U.S. towns, #23 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.
What is on the National Register in Fayetteville?
8 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Fayette County Courthouse (listed 1978, the first), 3 historic districts, the E. B. Hawkins House, the Kay Moor and the Fayetteville Historic District, with 137 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 141 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Fayetteville?
9% of Fayetteville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.2 points), against a typical 13% for a West Virginia town; the median home was built in 1968.
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 the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (8), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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