Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Matewan

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Matewan

Matewan’s post office opened in 1893, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Matewan was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. 1 place in town is on the National Register, among them the Matewan Historic District, a National Historic Landmark, and a historic district with 41 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1917 on, and the census since 1910.

1893first post office
1on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Matewan’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Matewan began

When was Matewan founded?

1893

The Matewan post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 588 in 19102020 census: 412133 years
Founding year: the first Matewan post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Matewan’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Matewan Historic District, a National Historic Landmark, takes in 41 historic buildings.Boom and bustPeaked at 989 in 1950; 412 people lived here in 2020.A National Historic Landmark1 place on the National Register, including Matewan Historic District, a National Historic Landmark.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Matewan’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewMatewan West Virginia floodwall: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

1 listing protects 41 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmark
1
Matewan Historic District
historic buildings protected
41
each building in a district counts
first listed
1993
Matewan Historic District
Matewan Historic District★
Districts★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Commercial1
Bungalow1
★ Landmark
Matewan Historic DistrictCommercial

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Matewan, census by census

02004006008001,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 989

Peaked at 989 in 1950; 412 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Matewan came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Matewan.

Read it all →

"Mate Creek Post Office" was established on February 18, 1875. Early postmasters included Joseph Murphy (February 18, 1875) and Elias Hatfield (January 13, 1882). The latter was a brother to William Anderson "Devil Anse" Hatfield, father to future West Virginia governor Henry Drury Hatfield, and participant in the Hatfield-McCoy Feud.

By 1885, Mate Creek PO was discontinued and replaced by "Sidney Post Office". Elliot Rutherford, a Logan County sheriff, was postmaster beginning on September 3, 1885.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Matewan, 1893 to 1999

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1893Post officeThe Matewan post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1917On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1936Born hereSam Church is born here
  6. 1947Born hereGayleatha B. Brown is born here
  7. 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 989
  8. 1952Born hereJohn Hendricks is born here
  9. 1997LandmarkMatewan Historic District named a National Historic Landmark
  10. 1999In the archiveMatewan West Virginia floodwall
By decade

Matewan, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1990s1 item
Matewan West Virginia floodwall1999Matewan West Virginia floodwall
Date unknown1 to date
Matewan West Virginia aerial viewDate?Matewan West Virginia aerial view
Today3 recent
2017-07-22 09 38 47 View north along West Virginia State Route 49 (Mate Street) at Bridge Street in20172017-07-22 09 38 47 View north along West Virginia St…Matewan, West Virginia2008Matewan, West VirginiaWVMap-doton-Matewan2004WVMap-doton-Matewan
On the map

Matewan on the map, 1917 to 1976

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

Matewan on the 1917 USGS mapMatewan on the 1928 USGS mapMatewan on the 1976 USGS map1917Matewan 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 Matewan.

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.

Matewan West Virginia aerial view
Retake this viewMatewan West Virginia aerial view

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

3 famous people were born in Matewan

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
John HendricksAmerican businessman · b. 1952
Gayleatha B. BrownAmerican diplomat · b. 1947
S
Sam ChurchAmerican labor unionist · b. 1936
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Red JacketIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Matewan’s history

What year was Matewan founded?

The Matewan post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Matewan?

One place: the Matewan Historic District (listed 1993).

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 (5), the National Register of Historic Places (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) 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.