Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Triadelphia

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Triadelphia

Triadelphia’s post office opened in 1828, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1902 on, and the census since 1850.

1828first post office
0on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Triadelphia’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Triadelphia began

When was Triadelphia founded?

1828

The Triadelphia post office opened in 1828, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 242 in 18502020 census: 669198 years
Founding year: the first Triadelphia post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Triadelphia’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19027 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1994. Watch Triadelphia change.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,461 in 1980; 669 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsA post office since 1828: 198 years of Triadelphia.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Triadelphia’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Triadelphia’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Descri…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Triadelphia on the map, 1902 to 1994

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

Triadelphia on the 1902 USGS mapTriadelphia on the 1935 USGS mapTriadelphia on the 1942 USGS mapTriadelphia on the 1956 USGS mapTriadelphia on the 1978 USGS mapTriadelphia on the 1984 USGS mapTriadelphia on the 1994 USGS map1902Wheeling 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 Triadelphia.

People over time

Triadelphia, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001850190019502000Peak: 1,461

Peaked at 1,461 in 1980; 669 people lived here in 2020.

18 censuses, 1850–2020.

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

The story

How Triadelphia came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Triadelphia.

Read it all →

Triadelphia was originally chartered in 1829. The name Triadelphia was adopted from the Greek words meaning three brothers, and most likely was named in honor of the three sons of the original owner of the town site.

It is home to the Highlands, the largest retail complex in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia.

Located near Triadelphia is the David Stewart Farm, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Triadelphia, 1828 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1828Post officeThe Triadelphia post office opens
  3. 1850In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - West Virginia - Ohio County - ED 35-77, E…
  4. 20th century
  5. 1902On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1930In the archiveMaple Tree Motor Court, Triadelphia, West Virginia (85682)
  7. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 1,461
By decade

Triadelphia, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1850s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1850s1 item
1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - West Virginia - Ohio County - ED 35-77, ED 35-78, ED 35-79, ED 35-80, E…18501940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - West …
1930s1 item
Maple Tree Motor Court, Triadelphia, West Virginia (85682)c. 1930Maple Tree Motor Court, Triadelphia, West Virginia (8…
1940s–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
Today5 recent
20201006 48 OVRTA EORTA bus, Tridelphia, West Virginia202020201006 48 OVRTA EORTA bus, Tridelphia, West VirginiaA historic mile marker on the National Road, the first federal highway (now U.S. 40) across the United States2015A historic mile marker on the National Road, the firs…A historic mile marker on the National Road, the first federal highway (now U.S. 40) across the United States, in2015A historic mile marker on the National Road, the firs…Straub Nissan2012Straub NissanWVMap-doton-Triadelphia2004WVMap-doton-Triadelphia
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.

1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - West Virginia - Ohio County - ED 35-77, ED 35-78, ED 35-79, ED 35-80, E…
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - West Virginia - Ohio County - ED 35-77, ED 35-78, ED 35-79, ED 35-80, E…, 1850

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

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Triadelphia’s post office has been open since 1828.

Gone or out of use
Dunbar Public Schoolschool

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Wheeling46 historic placesA+

Questions about Triadelphia’s history

What year was Triadelphia founded?

The Triadelphia post office opened in 1828, 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 (6), the Library of Congress (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.