The Lesage post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Coxs Landing (1873), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,290155 years
How historic is Lesage?
C
More historic than 25% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Lesage post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Lesage’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lesage is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lesage’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 Lesage’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (17% of West Virginia towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.6 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 Lesage’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Lesage yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Lesage is a census-designated place (CDP) on Ohio River Road in Cabell County, West Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,290 (down from 1,358 at the 2010 census). It is the nearest community to the Clover site, a National Historic Landmark. Lesage is a part of the Huntington-Ashland Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). As of the 2010 census, the MSA had a population of 287,702. New definitions from February 28, 2013, placed the population at 363,000. The community was named after Jules F. M. LeSage, an early settler.
Its first post office opened in 1871. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,358 to 1,290 (-5%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Lesage, 1871 to 1915
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Lesage’s post office has been open since 1871. Another post office, Coxs Landing, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Lesage
1871–today
Coxs Landing
1873–1915
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Cox Landing
Gone or out of use
Cox Landing Middle Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Lesage
Herrenkohl
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Lesage’s history
What year was Lesage founded?
The Lesage post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Lesage rank for history?
Lesage is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns. 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.
How old are the homes in Lesage?
9% of Lesage’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.6 points), against a typical 13% for a West Virginia town; the median home was built in 1978.
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 Wikidata (1), 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.
