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History · Shrewsbury

Shrewsbury’s post office opened in 1815

Most of Shrewsbury was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Below: maps from 1910 on.

1815first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Shrewsbury began

When was Shrewsbury founded?

1815

The Shrewsbury post office opened in 1815, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Peabody (1881) and Monarch (1892), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 517211 years
Founding year: the first Shrewsbury post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Shrewsbury’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 Shrewsbury are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Shrewsbury, and 1 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19105 editions of the USGS map, 1910 to 1971. Watch Shrewsbury change.Deep rootsA post office since 1815: 211 years of Shrewsbury.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Shrewsbury’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Shrewsbury’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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Shrewsbury had its own post office from 1815 to 1965. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Shrewsbury
1815–1965
Peabody
1881–1892
Monarch
1892–1918
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Monarch
1cemetery inside Shrewsbury
Lacie-Gray-Morris

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

On the map

Shrewsbury on the map, 1910 to 1971

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

Shrewsbury on the 1910 USGS mapShrewsbury on the 1928 USGS mapShrewsbury on the 1931 USGS mapShrewsbury on the 1965 USGS mapShrewsbury on the 1971 USGS map1910Montgomery 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 Shrewsbury.

The story so far

Shrewsbury, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Shrewsbury yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Shrewsbury is a census-designated place (CDP) and unincorporated community in Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States. Shrewsbury is located on the north bank of the Kanawha River along U.S. Route 60. As of the 2020 census, its population was 517 (down from 652 at the 2010 census). Like the nearby community of Dickinson, Shrewsbury was given its name due to the early history of the Dickinson and Shrewsbury families within the area. Shrewsbury is home to a Liberty gas station and convenience store, the Mason-Dixon Bar, and three churches; The Shrewsbury Church of God, Shrewsbury Community Church and the Shrewsbury Baptist Church.

Its first post office opened in 1815. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 652 to 517 (-21%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Shrewsbury, 1815 to 1965

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1815Post officeThe Shrewsbury post office opens
  3. 1881Post officeThe Peabody post office opens
  4. 1892Post officeThe Peabody post office closes
  5. 1892Post officeThe Monarch post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1910On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1918Post officeThe Monarch post office closes
  9. 1965Post officeThe Shrewsbury post office closes
By decade

Shrewsbury, decade by decade

Today2 recent
ShrewsburyWVPano20192019ShrewsburyWVPano2019EssBendRiverTownAutumnAerial-Nov20132013EssBendRiverTownAutumnAerial-Nov2013
Famous people

Famous people close to Shrewsbury

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

See all →
Jerry WestAmerican basketball player and executive · b. 1938
G
George Armitage MillerAmerican psychologist · b. 1920
Jim JusticeAmerican politician and entrepreneur · b. 1951
George CrumbAmerican composer · b. 1929
Randy BarnesAmerican shot putter · b. 1966
Randy MossAmerican football player and sports analyst · b. 1977

Questions about Shrewsbury’s history

What year was Shrewsbury founded?

The Shrewsbury post office opened in 1815, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (2), 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.