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St. George AcademySt. George Academy · Photo: Nyttend · Public domain
–Not graded
History · St. George

St. George’s post office opened in 1857, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of St. George was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2002. Its Register listing is the St. George Academy. Below: maps from 1908 on and old-book passages.

1857first post office
1on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How St. George began

When was St. George founded?

1857

The St. George post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Western Ford (1827) and Saint George (1857), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 74169 years
Founding year: the first St. George post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about St. George’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 St. George are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s St. George, and 1 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19084 editions of the USGS map, 1908 to 1995. Watch St. George change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start St. George’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how St. George’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 and old corners

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Western Ford
1827–1857
Saint George
1857–1998
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Saint George

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

On the map

St. George on the map, 1908 to 1995

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

St. George on the 1908 USGS mapSt. George on the 1926 USGS mapSt. George on the 1959 USGS mapSt. George on the 1995 USGS map1908Parsons 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 St. George.

The story

How St. George came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of St. George.

Read it all →

Originally known as Fort Minear and then as Westernford, St. George was settled in 1774 by German immigrant John Minear and his son, Jonathan, after early scouting visits to the area.

In 1856, an act creating the county specified that Tucker's county court was to be held on the lands of Enoch Minear, descendant of Jonathan Minear. The town was then renamed Saint George in honor of Henry St. George Tucker, Jr. (1828–63), the son of the county's namesake, Henry St. George Tucker, Sr. (1780–1848).

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about St. George in 1884

Passages that mention St. George, cut from the printed page as they were published.

The next we hear of John Minear, he was again on Cheat, and was building up a colony on the site of the present town of St. George. For some reason, he did not return to the Horse Shoe, but chose St. George in its stead. What influenced him to this choice is unknown. But, it is probable that Capt. …
History of Tucker County, West Virginia1884 · page 39Read the page →
Read the text

The next we hear of John Minear, he was again on Cheat, and was building up a colony on the site of the present town of St. George. For some reason, he did not return to the Horse Shoe, but chose St. George in its stead. What influenced him to this choice is unknown. But, it is probable that Capt. James Parsons had by that time secured the pre-emption of the Horse Shoe lands ; and Minear, desirous of having the colony on his ovm lands,

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
He pays considerable attention to bee raising, and well understands the business. He helped build the first house that was built in St. George after the town was laid out. It
History of Tucker County, West Virginia1884 · page 396Read the page →
Read the text

He pays considerable attention to bee raising, and well understands the business. He helped build the first house that was built in St. George after the town was laid out. It

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

St. George, 1827 to 1998

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1827Post officeThe Western Ford post office opens
  3. 1857Post officeThe Western Ford post office closes
  4. 1857Post officeThe Saint George post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1908On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1998Post officeThe Saint George post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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On the National Register

1 historic place in St. George

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
2001
St. George Academy
St. George Academy
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Vernacular1
St. George AcademyVernacular

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

Questions about St. George’s history

What year was St. George founded?

The St. George post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in St. George?

One place: the St. George Academy (listed 2001).

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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.