Although first incorporated in 1902, maps show the existence of Flatwoods as a town in 1873, and a church was established by a pastor named John Clark at the community there as early as 1830. The West Virginia and Pittsburgh Railroad extended a branch through Flatwoods in the late 1800s. Later, the line was taken over by Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and Flatwoods was a halfway point on the B&O Railroad's Clarksburg-Richwood branch, approximately 62.6 miles from the Clarksburg terminal, and 59.1 miles from the Richwood terminal. The town also served as the origin of West Virginia & Pittsburgh Railroad's Sutton Branch.
The community became nationally known for the Flatwoods monster UFO incident which occurred on September 12, 1952.
Passages that mention Flatwoods, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Braxton County and central West Virginia1919 · page 107Read the page →
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Flatwoods, a thriving village six miles northeast of Sutton on the Western and Gauley Bridge turnpike, and on the B. & 0. railroad, contains two churches, four drygoods stores, one hardware, two blacksmith shops, two barber shops, and one shoe and harness shop. The railroad runs through the town, its depot and junction of the branches leading to Sutton and Richwood, are located at the southwest end of the town. The population is about two hundred. The town maintains a fine school, is incorporated, and has no indebtedness.
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History of Braxton County and central West Virginia1919 · page 108Read the page →
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One of the indi dents relating to "the burial place of some of our earliest citizens to be regretted is the total wiping out and obliteration of the old graveyard at Flatwoods, where Nathan Prince was buried. He was son of Captain Prince, of the Revolutionary army, was an early settler where the town of Flatwoods now stands. One of Mr. Prince's daughters died young. She was a sister of the late Levi and Simon Prince and Barbara High, of Kanawha county. On account of wolves and other animals they buried her near the cabin in which Mr. Prince lived. That was the beginning of the graveyard at that
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Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Flatwoods, 1822 to 1980
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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 (6), Wikipedia, 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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