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History · Keystone

Keystone’s post office opened in 1892, and 43% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1910 on and the census since 1900.

1892first post office
0on the National Register
43%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Nyttend · Public domain
Quick answers

How Keystone began, and where its name came from

When was Keystone founded?

1892

The Keystone post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Belcher (1886), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 1,088 in 19002020 census: 176134 years

How did Keystone get its name?

Keystone’s name is derived from the name of the coal and coke company operating at that point.

Founding year: the first Keystone post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Keystone’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 Keystone are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 2,942 in 1940; 176 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19114 editions of the USGS map, 1911 to 1976. Watch Keystone change.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1910 to 1923, drew every building in Keystone.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Keystone’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Keystone, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,942

Peaked at 2,942 in 1940; 176 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

On the map

Keystone on the map, 1911 to 1976

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

Keystone on the 1911 USGS mapKeystone on the 1924 USGS mapKeystone on the 1967 USGS mapKeystone on the 1976 USGS map1911Pocahontas Special 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 Keystone.

The story

How Keystone came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Keystone.

Read it all →

Keystone was founded in 1892 by the Keystone Coal & Coke Company. Keystone was then incorporated in 1909 by the Circuit Court of McDowell County. Its name is derived from the name of the coal and coke company operating at that point. The city was formerly known as Cassville.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Keystone, 1886 to 1996

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1886Post officeThe Belcher post office opens
  3. 1892Post officeThe Belcher post office closes
  4. 1892Post officeThe Keystone post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1910Born hereBob Bowman is born here
  7. 1911On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 2,942
  9. 1996Post officeThe Keystone post office closes
By decade

Keystone, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Keystone, 52 north from gas station2016Keystone, 52 north from gas stationBuildings along the railroad line through the distressed Appalachian Mountains town of Keystone in southern West Virgin…2015Buildings along the railroad line through the distres…Old mining complex in the distressed Appalachian Mountains town of Keystone in southern West Virginia2015Old mining complex in the distressed Appalachian Moun…Old mining complex in the distressed Appalachian Mountains town of Keystone in southern West Virginia2015Old mining complex in the distressed Appalachian Moun…Buildings along the railroad line through the distressed Appalachian Mountains town of Keystone in southern West Virgin…2015Buildings along the railroad line through the distres…WVMap-doton-Keystone2004WVMap-doton-Keystone
Every building

Keystone, building by building, 1910–1923

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.

Keystone fire insurance map, 1910, sheet 11910Sheet 1 of 3
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Keystone had its own post office from 1892 to 1996. Another post office, Belcher, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Belcher
1886–1892
Keystone
1892–1996
18801950today
Gone or out of use
Keystone Elementary Schoolschool

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Northfork1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Keystone’s history

What year was Keystone founded?

The Keystone post office opened in 1892, 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 →
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 (4), the Library of Congress (2), 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.