Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1902 on, and the census since 1910.
The Masontown post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Masontown’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Masontown. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Masontown.
Peaked at 1,052 in 1980; 510 people lived here in 2020.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Masontown’s Wikipedia page.
From Wikipedia’s history of Masontown.
Masontown was laid out and platted in 1856. The town was named after William Mason, a pioneer merchant.
Located near Masontown is the Ralphsynder Decagonal Barn, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Masontown, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Preston County, West Virginia 691 Masontown. In 1895, two years later, he purchased another farm, and in 1901, moved to the Simon Martin farm, half a mile north of Masontown, but moved again in April, 1903, to a farm on the Ice's Ferry and Tunnelton Pike road half a mile south of Masontown, which he had purchased from Samuel B. Kirk. This farm was settled about 1776, being one of the first in this part of the country.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Masontown. — During this year (1856), William Mason moved to the site of Masontown, from Albrightsville. He. put up a house and store, and founded this town, named after him.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Watson, and to this union were born Mary Catherine, October 17, 1906; Cramer, December 29, 1908; Virginia Bess, June 14, 1911, and James Clifford, April 3, 1913. The residence property was built at Masontown in 1906. Mr. Gibson is a member and an official of the Methodist Church at Masontown ; is an active church worker, and supports that religious organization handsomely.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Masontown’s page.
Retake this view · +15The Masontown post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (2), the Library of Congress (1), 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 old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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