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History · Rupert

Rupert’s post office opened in 1888, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Rupert was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Its Register listing is the Rupert School. Below: maps from 1923 on and the census since 1950.

1888first post office
1on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Nyttend · Public domain
Quick answers

How Rupert began

When was Rupert founded?

1888

The Rupert post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 952 in 19502020 census: 877138 years
Founding year: the first Rupert post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Rupert’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 Rupert are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,276 in 1980; 877 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19234 editions of the USGS map, 1923 to 1981. Watch Rupert change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Rupert’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Rupert’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
People over time

Rupert, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001960198020002020Peak: 1,276

Peaked at 1,276 in 1980; 877 people lived here in 2020.

8 censuses, 1950–2020.

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

On the map

Rupert on the map, 1923 to 1981

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

Rupert on the 1923 USGS mapRupert on the 1935 USGS mapRupert on the 1972 USGS mapRupert on the 1981 USGS map1923Clintonville 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 Rupert.

The story

How Rupert came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Rupert.

Read it all →

Cyrus A. Rupert first came to Greenbrier County, circa 1829, when he was seventeen years old. Cyrus, the seventh of eleven children, was born at Point Pleasant on October 7, 1812. His parents were Henry Rupert and Naomi Henkle Rupert. Apparently, Cyrus chose to go to Greenbrier County to be with his brothers, Gideon and Paul, who were running a general store at Clintonville. Cyrus' father, Henry, died in 1835 and most of the family, including Gideon, then migrated westward to Pekin, Illinois. Paul moved to Louisville, Kentucky, but Cyrus chose to stay in Greenbrier County. Why Cyrus and his brothers came to Greenbrier County is not known. However, there were Henkles in the area and were possibly related to their mother.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Rupert, 1888 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888Post officeThe Rupert post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1923On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 1,276
By decade

Rupert, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Rupert on 602019Rupert on 60
On the National Register

1 historic place in Rupert

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2022
Rupert School
Rupert School
Buildings
All 1 listings
Rupert SchoolBuilding · listed 2022

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Rupert

Nobody well known was born in Rupert itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Katherine JohnsonAfrican-American mathematician · b. 1918
Sylvia BurwellFormer United States Secretary of Health and Hu… · b. 1965
John Davis ChandlerAmerican actor · b. 1935
Stephen RobertsAmerican film director · b. 1895
E
Earl JonesAmerican basketball player · b. 1961
Ada SmithAmerican entertainer · b. 1894
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Rupert’s post office has been open since 1888.

Gone or out of use
Rupert Elementary-Junior High Schoolschool

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

Questions about Rupert’s history

What year was Rupert founded?

The Rupert post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Rupert?

One place: the Rupert School (listed 2022).

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 (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.