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Kopperston 74th StreetPhoto: Nyttend · Public domain
–Not graded
History · Kopperston

Kopperston’s post office opened in 1939, and 59% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 6 old photos and papers and maps from 1891 on.

1939first post office
0on the National Register
59%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Kopperston’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Kopperston began

When was Kopperston founded?

1939

The Kopperston post office opened in 1939, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 56987 years
Founding year: the first Kopperston post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Kopperston’s past

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

On the map since 18914 editions of the USGS map, 1891 to 1982. Watch Kopperston change.Old housesHalf of Kopperston’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · On the map

Kopperston on the map, 1891 to 1982

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

Kopperston on the 1891 USGS mapKopperston on the 1967 USGS mapKopperston on the 1976 USGS mapKopperston on the 1982 USGS map1891Oceana sheet · 1:125,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Kopperston.

The story so far

Kopperston, in brief

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

Kopperston (also Kopperstone) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Wyoming County, West Virginia, United States. Its elevation is 1,660 feet (510 m). Kopperston once had a post office, which closed on March 10, 2007. As of the 2020 census, its population was 569.

Its first post office opened in 1939. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 616 to 569 (-8%).

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

Timeline

Kopperston, 1891 to 1946

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1891On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 20th century
  4. 1939Post officeThe Kopperston post office opens
  5. 1946In the archiveAt this mine the motor hauling the man trip is stopped just after it emerges from mine po…
By decade

Kopperston, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s6 items
At this mine the motor hauling the man trip is stopped just after it emerges from mine portal. The men get out of the..…1946At this mine the motor hauling the man trip is stoppe…At this mine the motor hauling the man trip is stopped just after it emerges from mine portal. The men then get out... …1946At this mine the motor hauling the man trip is stoppe…Children of miners in booth of company owned grill. The grill is one of the social centers of this community. Koppers..…1946Children of miners in booth of company owned grill. T…Children of miners playing on the lawn in company housing project. Koppers Coal Division, Kopperston Mine... - NARA - 5…1946Children of miners playing on the lawn in company hou…Children of miners. Koppers Coal Divison, Kopperston Mine, Kopperston, Wyoming County, West Virginia1946Children of miners. Koppers Coal Divison, Kopperston …Church in company housing project for miners. Basement also serves as gathering and meeting place for Lion's Club... - …1946Church in company housing project for miners. Basemen…
1950s–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
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.

At this mine the motor hauling the man trip is stopped just after it emerges from mine portal. The men get out of the..…
Retake this viewAt this mine the motor hauling the man trip is stopped just after it emerges from mine portal. The men get out of the..…, 1946

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Kopperston

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

See all →
Heath SlaterAmerican professional wrestler and actor · b. 1983
Little Jimmy DickensAmerican musician · b. 1920
Mike D'AntoniAmerican-Italian basketball player and coach · b. 1951
Christy MartinAmerican boxer · b. 1968
J
Jerome AndersonAmerican basketball player-coach · b. 1953
A
Art SimmonsAmerican musician · b. 1926
Help out

Finish Kopperston’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewAt this mine the motor hauling the man …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Kopperston’s history

What year was Kopperston founded?

The Kopperston post office opened in 1939, 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 (6), 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.