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B+History
History · Mullens

Mullens’ post office opened in 1904, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 67% of U.S. towns. What drives it

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 95 buildings. Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1912 on, and the census since 1920.

1904first post office
1on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
9old photos & papers
9famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Mullens’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Mullens began, and where its name came from

When was Mullens founded?

1904

The Mullens post office opened in 1904, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1912. Two smaller post offices, Tracoal (1919) and Nuriva (1924), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 1,425 in 19202020 census: 1,480122 years

How did Mullens get its name?

Mullens was named for A. J. Mullins, who owned the land upon which the town is built.

More on the name

The town's original name was spelled with an "i"; a recording error accounts for the error in spelling, which was never corrected.

How historic is Mullens?

B+

More historic than 67% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Mullens post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1912. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Mullens’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mullens is more historic than 67% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mullens’ overall grade.
Founding era1904, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194027.8% of homes (±7.0) · typical WV town 13.0% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register1 listing, 95 historic buildings, 467 per 10,000 residents · typical WV town 29.6 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 67%
NewerOlder

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 Mullens’ 467 sits above most of its state (85% of West Virginia towns have fewer) while its 95 historic buildings outnumber those of 89% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.0 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1912 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

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 Mullens’ past

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

A historic districtThe Mullens Historic District takes in 95 historic buildings.Boom and bustPeaked at 3,544 in 1960; 1,480 people lived here in 2020.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Mullens, and 1 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19125 editions of the USGS map, 1912 to 1996. Watch Mullens change.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

1 listing protects 95 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
95
each building in a district counts
first listed
1993
Mullens Historic District
Mullens Historic District
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Queen Anne1
Commercial Style1
Bungalow/Craftsman1
Colonial Revival1
Prairie1
Mullens Historic DistrictQueen Anne

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

People over time

Mullens, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,500192019401960198020002020Peak: 3,544

Peaked at 3,544 in 1960; 1,480 people lived here in 2020.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Mullens’s post office has been open since 1904. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Mullens
1904–today
Tracoal
1919–1924
Nuriva
1924–1939
19001960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Nuriva
Gone or out of use
Mullens High Schoolschool

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Mullens came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Mullens.

Read it all →

Mullens was incorporated as a town on September 17, 1912, and operated under a charter issued by the Circuit Court of Wyoming County. It was named for A. J. Mullins, who owned the land upon which the town is built. The town's original name was spelled with an "i"; a recording error accounts for the error in spelling, which was never corrected. An Act of the West Virginia Legislature granting a charter to the City of Mullens was passed February 22, 1929.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Mullens, 1904 to 1975

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1904Post officeThe Mullens post office opens
  3. 1912On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1919Post officeThe Tracoal post office opens
  5. 1924Post officeThe Tracoal post office closes
  6. 1924Post officeThe Nuriva post office opens
  7. 1939Post officeThe Nuriva post office closes
  8. 1946In the archiveA row of garages which have been converted by the company into housing for single men, on…
  9. 1951Born hereMike D'Antoni is born here
  10. 1953Born hereJerome Anderson is born here
  11. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 3,544
  12. 1968Born hereChristy Martin is born here
  13. 1975Born herePaula Jean Swearengin is born here
By decade

Mullens, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s9 items
A row of garages which have been converted by the company into housing for single men, one room the size of an... - NAR…1946A row of garages which have been converted by the com…Milong Bond taking a bath. Because of having to carry water from slow running outside faucet he tries to get the most..…1946Milong Bond taking a bath. Because of having to carry…Milong Bond, tipple worker, taking a bath. He rents a three room house for $8 monthly, this fee does not include... - N…1946Milong Bond, tipple worker, taking a bath. He rents a…Milong Bond, tipple worker, taking a bath. There is no washhouse for mine nor tipple workers. Mullens Smokeless Coal...…1946Milong Bond, tipple worker, taking a bath. There is n…Negro boy, son of miner, drinking from faucet. This is the only constant source of water in the camp. Mullens... - NARA…1946Negro boy, son of miner, drinking from faucet. This i…Negro men, all coal miners, on the front steps of their house. One man rents the house and sublets to the other three..…1946Negro men, all coal miners, on the front steps of the…Ray Boggess, a miner, building a fire in his home in company housing project. This one room, converted garage, rents...…1946Ray Boggess, a miner, building a fire in his home in …Ray Boggess, miner, sitting in front of the converted garage, in company housing project, which serves him as a... - NA…1946Ray Boggess, miner, sitting in front of the converted…Young wife of a miner drawing water at the tap in her kitchen. This tap was installed by a former tenant, few houses...…1946Young wife of a miner drawing water at the tap in her…
1950s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today3 recent
FEMA - 3647 - Photograph by Dave Saville taken on 08-02-2001 in West Virginia2001FEMA - 3647 - Photograph by Dave Saville taken on 08-…FEMA - 3642 - Photograph by Dave Saville taken on 08-02-2001 in West Virginia2001FEMA - 3642 - Photograph by Dave Saville taken on 08-…FEMA - 3622 - Photograph by Leif Skoogfors taken on 07-26-2001 in West Virginia2001FEMA - 3622 - Photograph by Leif Skoogfors taken on 0…
On the map

Mullens on the map, 1912 to 1996

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

Mullens on the 1912 USGS mapMullens on the 1925 USGS mapMullens on the 1967 USGS mapMullens on the 1976 USGS mapMullens on the 1996 USGS map1912Mullens 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 Mullens.

Every building

Mullens, building by building, 1922

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 sheet.

Mullens fire insurance map, 1922, sheet 11922Sheet 1 of 6
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

A row of garages which have been converted by the company into housing for single men, one room the size of an... - NAR…
Retake this viewA row of garages which have been converted by the company into housing for single men, one room the size of an... - NAR…, 1946

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

9 famous people were born in Mullens

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

See all →
Mike D'AntoniAmerican-Italian basketball player and coach · b. 1951
Christy MartinAmerican boxer · b. 1968
J
Jerome AndersonAmerican basketball player-coach · b. 1953
Paula Jean SwearenginAmerican activist and politician · b. 1975
G
Greg WhiteAmerican basketball coach · b. 1958
L
Linda PhillipsAmerican politician · b. 1952
Help out

Finish Mullens’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewA row of garages which have been conver…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Mullens’ history

What year was Mullens founded?

The Mullens post office opened in 1904, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1912.

How does Mullens rank for history?

Mullens is more historic than 67% 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 Mullens?

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

How old are the homes in Mullens?

28% of Mullens’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.0 points), against a typical 13% for a West Virginia town; the median home was built in 1953.

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).

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 and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.