Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Gary

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Gary

Gary dates to 1902, and 61% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the U.S. Coal and Coke Company. Its Register listing is the U.S. Coal and Coke Company. Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1912 on, and the census since 1960.

1902founded
1on the National Register
61%homes built before 1940
11old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Gary’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Gary began, and where its name came from

When was Gary founded?

1902

Gary dates its founding to 1902 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1960.

First census: 1,393 in 19602020 census: 773124 years

How did Gary get its name?

Gary was named for Elbert Henry Gary, one of the founders of U.S. Steel.

Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1848. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Gary’s past

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

Old housesHalf of Gary’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 2,233 in 1980; 773 people lived here in 2020.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Gary, and 4 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19125 editions of the USGS map, 1912 to 2001. Watch Gary change.
★ What stands out · The story

How Gary came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Gary.

Read it all →

In 1902, U.S. Steel began housing people in Gary Hollow for employment at one of the coal town's fourteen mines that produced metallurgical coal.

During the early 1940s, Gary Hollow, named for Elbert Henry Gary, produced around a quarter of the amount of coal mined from McDowell County, as well as a quarter of the coal used by U.S. Steel during World War II. At the time, the town boasted a large number of African American miners and began integrating the school system in the 1950s. However, Gary Hollow's education system was not completely integrated until 1964.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Gary, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5001960198020002020Peak: 2,233

Peaked at 2,233 in 1980; 773 people lived here in 2020.

6 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Gary’s post office has been open since 1904. Another post office, Tug River, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Tug River
1848–1910
Gary
1904–today
Elbert
1908–today
Thorpe
1910–today
Wilcoe
1910–today
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
ElbertThorpeVenusWilcoe
Gone or out of use
Gary Elementary Schoolschool

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

Timeline

Gary, 1848 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1848Post officeThe Tug River post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1902
    FoundingGary is established
  5. 1904Post officeThe Gary post office opens
  6. 1908In the archiveBank boss, (with lamp between knees) Motorman, Brake-boy and Driver. Gary Mine, Gary, W. …
  7. 1908Post officeThe Elbert post office opens
  8. 1910Post officeThe Tug River post office closes
  9. 1912On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1922Born hereJohnny Bero is born here
  11. 1924Born hereEdward Greer is born here
  12. 1927Born hereStanley J. Wawrzyniak is born here
  13. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 2,233
By decade

Gary, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s11 items
Bank boss, (with lamp between knees) Motorman, Brake-boy and Driver. Gary Mine, Gary, W. Va. Boss said he would use mor…1908Bank boss, (with lamp between knees) Motorman, Brake-…Child coal miners (1908) crop1908Child coal miners (1908) cropMachine used in Gary W. Va. mine that digs the coal and loads it on the car. With it 3 men can do the work of 50 in the…1908Machine used in Gary W. Va. mine that digs the coal a…Drivers and Mules1908Drivers and MulesBank boss, (with lamp between knees) Motorman, Brake-boy and Driver. Gary Mine1908Bank boss, (with lamp between knees) Motorman, Brake-…National Child Labor Committee. No. 72. Main entrance1908National Child Labor Committee. No. 72. Main entranceMain entrance1908Main entranceMachine used1908Machine usedTipple & Elevator into shaft. Leads down to mine 200 ft. below. Gary Mine. Do more work by machinery than any mine in t…1908Tipple & Elevator into shaft. Leads down to mine 200 …National Child Labor Committee. No. 92. Main entrance Gary W. Va. Mine. Miners going into mine 7 A.M. Boy beginning car…1908National Child Labor Committee. No. 92. Main entrance…Boy braking on motor train 10 hrs. a day. Where mining, loading, etc. is done by machinery. Live wire above is sometime…1908Boy braking on motor train 10 hrs. a day. Where minin…
1910s–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
On the map

Gary on the map, 1912 to 2001

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

Gary on the 1912 USGS mapGary on the 1924 USGS mapGary on the 1967 USGS mapGary on the 1977 USGS mapGary on the 2001 USGS map1912Welch 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 Gary.

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.

Bank boss, (with lamp between knees) Motorman, Brake-boy and Driver. Gary Mine, Gary, W. Va. Boss said he would use mor…
Retake this viewBank boss, (with lamp between knees) Motorman, Brake-boy and Driver. Gary Mine, Gary, W. Va. Boss said he would use mor…, 1908

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Gary

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1992
U.S. Coal and Coke Company
U.S. Coal and Coke Company
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Box Plan1
U.S. Coal and Coke CompanyBox Plan

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Gary

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
E
Edward GreerAmerican soldier · b. 1924
J
Johnny BeroAmerican baseball player · b. 1922
S
Stanley J. WawrzyniakAmerican Marine Corps Navy Cross recipient · b. 1927
Help out

Finish Gary’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBank boss, (with lamp between knees) Mo…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Gary’s history

What year was Gary founded?

In 1902, according to Wikidata. Gary’s post office opened in 1848, and the census of 1960 counted 1,393 people here.

What is on the National Register in Gary?

One place: the U.S. Coal and Coke Company (listed 1992).

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), the Library of Congress (8), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.