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2016-06-25 16 07 31 View east along West Virginia State Route 9 (Henry W Miller Highway) at Depot Street in Paw Paw, Morgan County, West VirginiaPhoto: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0
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History · Paw Paw

Paw Paw’s post office opened in 1846, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

4 places in town are on the National Register. Below: maps from 1900 on and the census since 1890.

1846first post office
4on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Paw Paw began

When was Paw Paw founded?

1846

The Paw Paw post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 772 in 18902020 census: 410180 years
Founding year: the first Paw Paw post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Paw Paw’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Paw Paw are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19004 editions of the USGS map, 1900 to 1996. Watch Paw Paw change.Boom and bustPeaked at 990 in 1940; 410 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsA post office since 1846: 180 years of Paw Paw.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Paw Paw’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Paw Paw on the map, 1900 to 1996

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

Paw Paw on the 1900 USGS mapPaw Paw on the 1950 USGS mapPaw Paw on the 1974 USGS mapPaw Paw on the 1996 USGS map1900Paw Paw 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 Paw Paw.

People over time

Paw Paw, census by census

02004006008001,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 990

Peaked at 990 in 1940; 410 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

The story

How Paw Paw came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Paw Paw.

Read it all →

The earliest human habitation in the upper Potomac River Valley probably dates from 10,000 BC when humans migrated across the Bering Straits into North America. In the 17th century, Europeans began arriving in increasing numbers. As European settlements gradually spread across western Virginia, the tribes were pushed from their villages and fields, which were then claimed and cultivated by the new settlers.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Paw Paw, 1846 to 1940

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1846Post officeThe Paw Paw post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1900On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1909BuiltSenator P. E. Nixon House is built
  6. 1939Born hereOz Bach is born here
  7. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 990
By decade

Paw Paw, decade by decade

Today9 recent
Paw Paw Black school2024Paw Paw Black schoolPE Nixon House2024PE Nixon HousePaw Paw St Charles Catholic Mission Church2023Paw Paw St Charles Catholic Mission ChurchB & O Train Depot2023B & O Train Depot2016-05-05 14 05 36 View west up the Potomac River from the Paw Paw Bridge (Maryland State Route 51) between Paw Paw, M…20162016-05-05 14 05 36 View west up the Potomac River fr…2016-05-05 14 05 25 View east down the Potomac River from the Paw Paw Bridge (Maryland State Route 51) between Paw Paw,…20162016-05-05 14 05 25 View east down the Potomac River …Woodrow Union Church in the settlement of2015Woodrow Union Church in the settlement ofPublic library in the settlement of2015Public library in the settlement ofWVMap-doton-PawPaw2004WVMap-doton-PawPaw
On the National Register

4 historic places in Paw Paw

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
2023
Paw Paw Old Mayor's Office and Jail
Paw Paw Black SchoolSenator P. E. Nixon House, built 1909Paw Paw Old Mayor's Office and JailSaint Charles Catholic Mission Church
Buildings
Paw Paw Black SchoolBuilding
Senator P. E. Nixon HouseBuilt 1909
All 4 listings
Paw Paw Old Mayor's Office and JailBuilding · listed 2023Saint Charles Catholic Mission ChurchBuilding · listed 2024

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

Questions about Paw Paw’s history

What year was Paw Paw founded?

The Paw Paw post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Paw Paw?

4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Paw Paw Old Mayor's Office and Jail (listed 2023, the first).

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 (9), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.