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History · Handley

Handley dates to 1877, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1910 on and the census since 1980.

1877founded
0on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Magnolia677 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Handley began

When was Handley founded?

1877

Handley dates its founding to 1877 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1980.

First census: 633 in 19802020 census: 223149 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1881.

What stands out about Handley’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Handley are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19106 editions of the USGS map, 1910 to 1996. Watch Handley change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Handley’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Handley on the map, 1910 to 1996

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

Handley on the 1910 USGS mapHandley on the 1928 USGS mapHandley on the 1931 USGS mapHandley on the 1965 USGS mapHandley on the 1976 USGS mapHandley on the 1996 USGS map1910Montgomery 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 Handley.

The story so far

Handley, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Handley yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Handley is a town in Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 224 at the 2020 census. Handley was first established in 1877 and known as Upper Creek until July 29, 1881, when its name was changed to Handley for pioneer settlers who farmed the area. Handley has the distinction of bearing a name like no other town in the United States. The town was incorporated November 1972. Handley is located in the Upper Kanawha Valley on the south side of the Kanawha River on West Virginia Route 61, along the Chesapeake & Ohio Railways (Now CSX Transportation). Railroad yards moved here from nearby Montgomery in 1899. Trains and barges hauled coal for the Chesapeake Mining Company …

Handley was established in 1877. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 349 to 223 (-36%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Handley in 1911

Passages that mention Handley, cut from the printed page as they were published.

HANDLEY Handley, W. Va., was laid out by the Wyoming Manufacturing Company and was named for a Mr. Handley who was connected with the company. The company opened up coal mines, opening the Kanawha seam of coal.
History of Charleston and Kanawha County, West Virginia1911 · page 238Read the page →
Read the text

HANDLEY Handley, W. Va., was laid out by the Wyoming Manufacturing Company and was named for a Mr. Handley who was connected with the company. The company opened up coal mines, opening the Kanawha seam of coal.

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

Handley, 1877 to 1910

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1877
    FoundingHandley is established
  3. 1881Post officeThe Handley post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1910On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Handley, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Handley, West Virginia2014Handley, West VirginiaWVMap-doton-Handley2004WVMap-doton-Handley
People over time

Handley, census by census

0100200300400500600700198020002020Peak: 633

Between 223 and 633 people in every census since 1980.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Handley

Nobody well known was born in Handley itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Jerry WestAmerican basketball player and executive · b. 1938
Randy MossAmerican football player and sports analyst · b. 1977
Mike BarrettAmerican basketball player · b. 1943
Gino MarchettiPlayer of American football · b. 1927
L
Lou MyersAmerican actor · b. 1935
Timothy TrumanAmerican writer · b. 1956

Questions about Handley’s history

What year was Handley founded?

In 1877, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Handley’s post office opened in 1881, and the census of 1980 counted 633 people here.

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 (2), 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.