Grafton’s post office opened in 1854, and 50% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 84% of U.S. towns · #20 of 61 in West Virginia. What drives it
4 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Andrews Methodist Church, a National Historic Landmark, and two historic districts with 72 buildings between them. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1860.
The Grafton post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1856. Three smaller post offices, Three Forks (1840), Fetterman (1851) and West Grafton (1882), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 891 in 18602020 census: 4,722172 years
How historic is Grafton?
A−
More historic than 84% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Grafton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1856.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Grafton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Grafton is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #20 of 61 in West Virginia. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Grafton’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 Grafton’s 167 sits above most of its state (74% of West Virginia towns have fewer) while its 77 historic buildings outnumber those of 88% 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 (±6.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1856 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Grafton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Blueville Grade SchoolschoolEast End SchoolschoolGrafton Middle SchoolschoolLee Ward SchoolschoolLucretia SchoolschoolTaylor County JailbuildingWest Side Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Grafton
BluemontGraftonGrafton National
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the National Register
4 listings protect 77 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.
The origin of the name "Grafton" — originally Grafton Junction — is disputed. The city may have been named for John Grafton, a civil engineer of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Alternatively, railroad crews may have referred to the town as "Graftin" because it was the point at which a number of branch railroad lines met (grafted to) the railroad's mainline.
Grafton developed from early white settlements at the confluence of Three Fork Creek with the Tygart Valley River, part of the headwaters region of the Monongahela River watershed. In 1776, Virginia's remote District of West Augusta was divided into three counties, including Monongalia County, which included what are now Taylor County and Grafton.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Grafton. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1902Fairmont 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 Grafton.
Every building
Grafton, building by building, 1892–1911
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
The Grafton post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1856.
How does Grafton rank for history?
Grafton is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #20 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 Grafton?
4 listings: 1 building, among them the Andrews Methodist Church (a National Historic Landmark since 1992), 2 historic districts, the Grafton National Cemetery and the Grafton Downtown Commercial Historic District, with 72 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 77 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Grafton?
50% of Grafton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.1 points), against a typical 13% for a West Virginia town; the median home was built in 1938.
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 Wikimedia Commons (6), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
★ Landmark
1898
1898
