Most of Mineralwells was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. Below: maps from 1906 on and the census since 2000.
Founding year: the first Mineralwells post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Mineralwells’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mineralwells is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mineralwells’ 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 Mineralwells’ 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 (±6.7 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 Mineralwells’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Hamlets and corners on the map
BonnivaleLincolnshireMineral AcresMount Pleasant EstatesOakbrookSociety Hill AcresWindsor Estates
Gone or out of use
Scott Field AirportairportSociety Hill Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Mineralwells
MorrisonMount Zion
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Mineralwells on the map, 1906 to 1988
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Mineralwells. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1906Belleville 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 Mineralwells.
The story so far
Mineralwells, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Mineralwells yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Mineralwells, also known as Mineral Wells, is a census-designated place (CDP) in Wood County, West Virginia, United States. It is part of the Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna, WV-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,950 at the 2010 census, in which, by 2020, the population decreased to 1,805. The United States Census Bureau calls the community Mineralwells, although the United States Postal Service renamed the community's post office in the late 1990s to Mineral Wells.
Its first post office opened in 1871. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,950 to 1,805 (-7%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
The Mineralwells post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Mineralwells rank for history?
Mineralwells is more historic than 21% 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 Mineralwells?
6% of Mineralwells’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.7 points), against a typical 13% for a West Virginia town; the median home was built in 1980.
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 (6), 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.
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