Founding year: the first Mannington post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Mannington’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mannington is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mannington’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 Mannington’s 1,143 sits above most of its state (95% of West Virginia towns have fewer) while its 209 historic buildings outnumber those of 93% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A+. 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 Mannington’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
At the time of the first settlement, the west fork of Buffalo Creek was known as Warrior's Fork, while the North Fork has historically borne the name of Pyle's Fork. One of the first settlers in the area was John Ice, who was born in the valley of the South Branch of the Potomac River in what was then Virginia. As a child, Ice and his father searched in vain for his mother, two sisters and brother who had been captured by Native Americans. The mother was never found, although the children ultimately were. Only John's brother, known from then on as "Indian Billy" returned to the family. The sisters chose to remain with their one time captors (Prichard 1983).
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.
Mannington’s post office has been open since 1854.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Homewood
1cemetery inside Mannington
Beaty
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Mannington’s history
What year was Mannington founded?
The Mannington post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Mannington rank for history?
Mannington is more historic than 89% 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.
What is on the National Register in Mannington?
Three places: the Hamilton Round Barn (listed 1985), the Mannington Historic District (1995) and the Wilson School (2001).
How old are the homes in Mannington?
50% of Mannington’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 1938.
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 (3), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
1897
2004