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History · Idamay

Idamay’s post office opened in 1917, and 75% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 2 old photos and papers and maps from 1902 on.

1917first post office
0on the National Register
75%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Idamay’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Idamay began

When was Idamay founded?

1917

The Idamay post office opened in 1917, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 542109 years
Founding year: the first Idamay post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Idamay’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Idamay’s homes were built before 1938.On the map since 19024 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1977. Watch Idamay change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Idamay’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewIndustries of War - Mining - Coal - Min…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Idamay came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Idamay.

Read it all →

The community was named after Ida May Watson, the daughter of Consolidation Coal co-founder James Otis Watson and sister of Caroline Watson Fleming, after whom the neighboring town of Carolina was named.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

On the map

Idamay on the map, 1902 to 1977

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

Idamay on the 1902 USGS mapIdamay on the 1923 USGS mapIdamay on the 1960 USGS mapIdamay on the 1977 USGS map1902Clarksburg 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 Idamay.

Timeline

Idamay, 1902 to 1917

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1902On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1917In the archiveIndustries of War - Mining - Coal - Mining coal in war times. Train of coal loaded at
  4. 1917Post officeThe Idamay post office opens
By decade

Idamay, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s2 items
Industries of War - Mining - Coal - Mining coal in war times. Train of coal loaded at1917Industries of War - Mining - Coal - Mining coal in wa…Industries of War - Mining - Mining coal in war times. Shaft bottom of mine at Idamay, West Virginia. Fuel Administrati…1917Industries of War - Mining - Mining coal in war times…
1920s–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
Today1 recent
Idamay WV Postmark2012Idamay WV Postmark
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.

Industries of War - Mining - Coal - Mining coal in war times. Train of coal loaded at
Retake this viewIndustries of War - Mining - Coal - Mining coal in war times. Train of coal loaded at, 1917

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Idamay

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

See all →
Joe ManchinAmerican politician and businessman · b. 1947
Mary Lou RettonAmerican gymnast · b. 1968
Johnnie JohnsonAmerican musician · b. 1924
Fuzzy KnightAmerican film actor · b. 1901
N
Nick SabanAmerican football coach · b. 1951
Sam HuffAmerican football player · b. 1934

Questions about Idamay’s history

What year was Idamay founded?

The Idamay post office opened in 1917, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.