Most of Pinch was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Below: maps from 1907 on and the census since 2000.
The Pinch post office opened in 1921, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Dial (1898) and Pinchton (1912), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 2,811 in 20002020 census: 2,914105 years
How historic is Pinch?
D−
More historic than 4% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Pinch post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Pinch’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pinch is more historic than 4% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Pinch’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 Pinch’s 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 D. The pre-1940 share (±1.5 points) is firm at this size. 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 Pinch’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Pinch’s post office has been open since 1921. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Dial
1898–1912
Pinchton
1912–1921
Pinch
1921–today
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Dial
Gone or out of use
Lower Pinch SchoolschoolUpper Pinch Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Pinch
MorrisRummellVickers
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Pinch on the map, 1907 to 1971
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Pinch. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1907Clendenin 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 Pinch.
The story so far
Pinch, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Pinch yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Pinch is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 2,914 at the 2020 census. It is located about 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Charleston, adjacent to Elkview and roughly 2 miles (3 km) northwest of Big Chimney. The community lies along the Elk River and is surrounded by rolling hills. The community was named after nearby Pinch Creek.
Its first post office opened in 1921. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 3,262 to 2,914 (-11%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Pinch in 1911
Passages that mention Pinch, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Charleston and Kanawha County, West Virginia1911 · page 217Read the page →
Read the text
others. Arch Price killed the last buffalo on Elk. In the vicinity there are some queer names: "Falling Rock," "Blue Creek," "Indian Creek," "Pinch" and "Potato" creek. Clendenin was named for the first settler at the mouth of Elk, who was really the founder of Charleston in 1788.
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
Pinch, 1898 to 1921
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Pinch post office opened in 1921, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Pinch rank for history?
Pinch is more historic than 4% 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 Pinch?
1% of Pinch’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.5 points), against a typical 13% for a West Virginia town; the median home was built in 1983.
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 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 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.
