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C−History
History · Rand

Rand’s post office opened in 1902, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 25% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: 8 old photos and papers and maps from 1909 on.

1902first post office
0on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
8old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Rand’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Rand began

When was Rand founded?

1902

The Rand post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Plus (1911), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 1,543124 years

How historic is Rand?

C−

More historic than 25% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Rand post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Rand’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Rand is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Rand’s overall grade.
Founding era1902, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194020.1% of homes (±14.4) · typical WV town 13.0% · U.S. 8.4%B+National RegisterNo listings counted · typical WV town 29.6 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 25%
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 Rand’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 C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±14.4 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 Rand’s past

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

On the map since 19095 editions of the USGS map, 1909 to 1996. Watch Rand change.Old housesHalf of Rand’s homes were built before 1963.
★ What stands out · On the map

Rand on the map, 1909 to 1996

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

Rand on the 1909 USGS mapRand on the 1931 USGS mapRand on the 1957 USGS mapRand on the 1971 USGS mapRand on the 1996 USGS map1909Charleston 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 Rand.

The story

How Rand came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Rand.

Read it all →

The unincorporated community within the historic Kanawha Salines area, was named after Plus Rand Levi, son of Mordecai Levi, patent holder of the Brick Road. It was originally named Plus from 1907 to 1909, when a large tract was purchased from the Dickinson family. Because there was a town already called Plus, the community changed its name to Levi. Around the 1930s or 1940s, due to a town in Braxton County being named Levi, the community changed its name again, to Rand.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Rand, 1902 to 1977

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1902Post officeThe Rand post office opens
  3. 1909On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1911Post officeThe Plus post office opens
  5. 1942Post officeThe Plus post office closes
  6. 1961Post officeThe Rand post office closes
  7. 1969Born hereChris Hakel is born here
  8. 1973In the archiveA basketball game on unpaved Church Avenue, Rand, West Virginia, near an abandoned automo…
  9. 1977Born hereRandy Moss is born here
By decade

Rand, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1970s8 items
A basketball game on unpaved Church Avenue, Rand, West Virginia, near an abandoned automobile1973A basketball game on unpaved Church Avenue, Rand, Wes…CHILDREN PLAY IN AN UNPAVED STREET IN1973CHILDREN PLAY IN AN UNPAVED STREET INRAND, WV., WITH MUCH OF ITS POPULATION LIVING IN POVERTY, HAS MANY UNPAVED ROADS, SUBSTANDARD HOUSES, AND JUNKED AUTOMO…1973RAND, WV., WITH MUCH OF ITS POPULATION LIVING IN POVE…RAND, WV., WITH MUCH OF ITS POPULATION LIVING IN POVERTY, HAS MANY UNPAVED ROADS, SUBSTANDARD HOUSES, AND JUNKED AUTOMO…1973RAND, WV., WITH MUCH OF ITS POPULATION LIVING IN POVE…RAND, WV., WITH MUCH OF ITS POPULATION LIVING IN POVERTY, HAS MANY UNPAVED ROADS, SUBSTANDARD HOUSES, AND JUNKED AUTOMO…1973RAND, WV., WITH MUCH OF ITS POPULATION LIVING IN POVE…RAND, WV., WITH MUCH OF ITS POPULATION LIVING IN POVERTY, HAS MANY UNPAVED ROADS, SUBSTANDARD HOUSES, AND JUNKED AUTOMO…1973RAND, WV., WITH MUCH OF ITS POPULATION LIVING IN POVE…RAND, WV., WITH MUCH OF ITS POPULATION LIVING IN POVERTY, HAS MANY UNPAVED ROADS, SUBSTANDARD HOUSES, AND JUNKED AUTOMO…1973RAND, WV., WITH MUCH OF ITS POPULATION LIVING IN POVE…THE CHILDREN OF RAND LIVE IN A TOWN WHERE MUCH OF THE HOUSING IS SUBSTANDARD AND MANY OF THE ROADS UNPAVED1973THE CHILDREN OF RAND LIVE IN A TOWN WHERE MUCH OF THE…
1980s–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
Today1 recent
Kanawha River aerial view2026Kanawha River aerial view
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 basketball game on unpaved Church Avenue, Rand, West Virginia, near an abandoned automobile
Retake this viewA basketball game on unpaved Church Avenue, Rand, West Virginia, near an abandoned automobile, 1973

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Rand

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

See all →
Randy MossAmerican football player and sports analyst · b. 1977
C
Chris HakelAmerican football player · b. 1969
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Rand had its own post office from 1902 to 1961. Another post office, Plus, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Rand
1902–1961
Plus
1911–1942
19001960today
Gone or out of use
Rand Elementary SchoolschoolRand Post Officepost office

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

Help out

Finish Rand’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 basketball game on unpaved Church Ave…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Rand’s history

What year was Rand founded?

The Rand post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Rand rank for history?

Rand is more historic than 25% 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 Rand?

20% of Rand’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±14.4 points), against a typical 13% for a West Virginia town; the median home was built in 1963.

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 (9), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.