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History · Lester

Lester’s post office opened in 1884

Most of Lester was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Below: maps from 1912 on and the census since 1920.

1884first post office
0on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Lester began

When was Lester founded?

1884

The Lester post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 412 in 19202020 census: 338142 years
Founding year: the first Lester post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Lester’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 Lester are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 909 in 1940; 338 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19124 editions of the USGS map, 1912 to 1976. Watch Lester change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lester’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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People over time

Lester, census by census

02004006008001,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 909

Peaked at 909 in 1940; 338 people lived here in 2020.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

On the map

Lester on the map, 1912 to 1976

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

Lester on the 1912 USGS mapLester on the 1925 USGS mapLester on the 1967 USGS mapLester on the 1976 USGS map1912Mullens 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 Lester.

The story so far

Lester, in brief

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

Lester is a town in Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 337 at the 2020 census. The community was named after Champ Lester, a local pioneer.

Its first post office opened in 1884. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 348 to 338 (-3%).

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

Timeline

Lester, 1884 to 1940

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1884Post officeThe Lester post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1912On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 909
By decade

Lester, decade by decade

Today7 recent
Lester-post-office-wv2018Lester-post-office-wvLester-from-Church-St-wv2018Lester-from-Church-St-wvLester-RR-tracks-wv2018Lester-RR-tracks-wvLester-Fire-Department-wv2018Lester-Fire-Department-wvLester-City-Hall-wv2018Lester-City-Hall-wv2017-07-21 15 15 37 View north along West Virginia State Route 305 (Central Avenue) at Christian Avenue in20172017-07-21 15 15 37 View north along West Virginia St…WVMap-doton-Lester2004WVMap-doton-Lester
Famous people

Famous people close to Lester

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

See all →
Chris SarandonAmerican actor · b. 1942
Tom CarperAmerican politician · b. 1947
Little Jimmy DickensAmerican musician · b. 1920
Mike D'AntoniAmerican-Italian basketball player and coach · b. 1951
Cora Sue CollinsAmerican child actress · b. 1927
Nick RahallAmerican politician · b. 1949

Questions about Lester’s history

What year was Lester founded?

The Lester post office opened in 1884, 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 (7), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.