Inwood’s post office opened in 1890, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 50% of U.S. towns · #36 of 61 in West Virginia. What drives it
Most of Inwood was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2002. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 9 buildings. Below: maps from 1916 on.
Founding year: the first Inwood post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Inwood’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Inwood is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #36 of 61 in West Virginia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Inwood’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 Inwood’s 32.2 sits near the middle of its state (64% of West Virginia towns have fewer) while its 9 historic buildings outnumber those of 75% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.0 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Inwood’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In the late 1880s, coinciding with the arrival of the Cumberland Valley Railroad (CVRR) extension, a resort that became known as Inwood Park was established on the property of the Strong family of south Berkeley County, West Virginia. On May 5, 1890, the Inwood Post Office opened and the village grew around the Park. From 1892 - 1913, an annual event called the Inwood Fair was held at the Park. This event drew in the range of 7,000 - 12,000 people.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Questions about Inwood’s history
What year was Inwood founded?
The Inwood post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Inwood rank for history?
Inwood is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #36 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 Inwood?
One place: the Mill Creek Historic District (listed 1980).
How old are the homes in Inwood?
8% of Inwood’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.0 points), against a typical 13% for a West Virginia town; the median home was built in 2002.
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 (22), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
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