The Montgomery post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Crescent (1880), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 1,594 in 19002020 census: 1,275135 years
How historic is Montgomery?
B−
More historic than 49% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Montgomery post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Montgomery’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Montgomery is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Montgomery’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 Montgomery’s 6.6 sits near the middle of its state (47% of West Virginia towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.6 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 Montgomery’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Peaked at 3,484 in 1950; 1,275 people lived here in 2020.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Montgomery’s Wikipedia page.
Every building
Montgomery, building by building, 1895–1920
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
From 1876 to 1890, the town was called Coal Valley Post Office. The name then changed to Montgomery's Landing, then to Coal Valley. In 1890 it was again renamed, as Cannelton. It was incorporated on April 1, 1891, and the name Montgomery was settled upon; it was named for James C. Montgomery, one of the city's first settlers. The land was given to James Montgomery as a wedding present from his grandfather-in-law, Levi Morris, who owned all the land.
Passages that mention Montgomery, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of fayette county west virginia1926 · page 421Read the page →
Read the text
MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS Montgomery was incorporated under the name of Montgomery April 1, 1891. Previous to this the town had been known as Cannelton, and as Coal Valley. At the time of its incorporation, the railway station was still Cannelton, the post office used the name of Coal Valley, and the town as newly incorporated was Montgomery. Brakemen on the passenger trains called all three names to eliminate mistake. For some years the need of local government
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of fayette county west virginia1926 · page 428Read the page →
Read the text
BUSINESS From a business standpoint Montgomery could not be better located than it is. The natural center of the local coal fields, the trade of the miners and others living on Smithers creek, Lower Loup creek, Armstrong creek, Paint creek, and Cabin creek, naturally come to Montgomery for their supplies, and a large number of the people on the north side of the river from Cedar Grove to Gauley Bridge, find Montgomery a convenient trading point. By
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.
Timeline
Montgomery, 1880 to 1973
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
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.
The Montgomery post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Montgomery rank for history?
Montgomery is more historic than 49% 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 Montgomery?
One place: the Main Building (listed 1980).
How old are the homes in Montgomery?
16% of Montgomery’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.6 points), against a typical 13% for a West Virginia town; the median home was built in 1969.
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 (12), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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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