South Charleston dates to 1906, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 23% of U.S. towns · #50 of 61 in West Virginia. What drives it
Most of South Charleston was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1958. Its Register listing is the South Charleston Mound. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1909 on, and the census since 1920.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1873.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives South Charleston’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, South Charleston is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #50 of 61 in West Virginia. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of South Charleston’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 South Charleston’s 0.7 sits near the middle of its state (35% of West Virginia towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±2.4 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1906.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 South Charleston’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
South Charleston had its own post office from 1907 to 1918. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Spring Hill
1873–1942
Ruth
1892–1909
South Charleston
1907–1918
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Kenna HomesRock Lake VillageRuthRuthdaleSpring HillWeberwood
Gone or out of use
Edison Elementary SchoolschoolGateways Shopping CenterlocaleGrandview SchoolschoolKyle Elementary SchoolschoolLock 6damLogg-Odell SchoolschoolLoudon High SchoolschoolSouthern Hills HospitalhospitalSpring Hill Elementary SchoolschoolSpring Hill Junior High SchoolschoolStaunton Elementary SchoolschoolVillage Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside South Charleston
GlendaleSunset Memorial Park
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
People over time
South Charleston, census by census
Peaked at 19,180 in 1960; 13,647 people lived here in 2020.
11 censuses, 1920–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on South Charleston’s Wikipedia page.
On the map
South Charleston on the map, 1909 to 1996
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of South Charleston. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1909Charleston 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 South Charleston.
South Charleston was established in 1906, but not incorporated until 1919.
Leonidas Henrie Oakes Sr. (1843–1894) was a member of the West Virginia State Legislature. His son, Leonidas Henrie Oakes Jr. (1873–1949) was the mayor of South Charleston for many years. He was mayor from 1920 to 1921 and also from 1930 to 1946. He acquired funds to build the Thomas Memorial Hospital and also the Oakes Field in South Charleston. He was instrumental in developing recreational activities for the youth of the city.
It is home to the Charleston Ordnance Center, a former naval munitions factory established for use in World War I. It employed over 11,000 workers and produced 130,000 gun barrels for U.S. warships.
Passages that mention South Charleston, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Charleston and Kanawha County, West Virginia1911 · page 144Read the page →
Read the text
The Banner Window Glass Co. of South Charleston is one of the many prosperous manufacturing plants of the city of Charleston. The plant is located in South Charleston at the end of the South Charleston electric car line. The firm was incorporated in June, 1907, with a capital stock of $50,000, and began operations December 12, 1907. The plant
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Charleston and Kanawha County, West Virginia1911 · page 815Read the page →
Read the text
ton, after which he went into the nursery business, in which he continued until 1907, when he sold his nursery property to the Kanawha Land Company, locating at South Charleston. He continues to have some landed interest, however, and owns fifty-five acres, which, on account of its nearness to South Charleston, is yearly increasing in value. Politically he is a
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
South Charleston, 1873 to 1993
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
In 1906, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. South Charleston’s post office opened in 1873, and the census of 1920 counted 3,650 people here.
How does South Charleston rank for history?
South Charleston is more historic than 23% of U.S. towns, #50 of 61 in West Virginia. 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.
What is on the National Register in South Charleston?
One place: the South Charleston Mound (listed 1970).
How old are the homes in South Charleston?
9% of South Charleston’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 13% for a West Virginia town; the median home was built in 1958.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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), 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.
1949
1973
1973
