The Weirton post office opened in 1910, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1947. Another post office, Hollidays Cove (1815), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 24,005 in 19502020 census: 19,163116 years
How historic is Weirton?
C
More historic than 33% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Weirton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1947.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Weirton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Weirton is more historic than 33% of U.S. towns, #44 of 61 in West Virginia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Weirton’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 Weirton’s 2.7 sits near the middle of its state (41% of West Virginia towns have fewer) while its 5 listings outnumber those of 70% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share (±2.3 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1947.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Weirton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Weirton's history dates to Fort Holliday, an American Revolutionary War fortification constructed in 1776 by soldiers from Fort Pitt. It was located in what is now downtown Weirton along Harmons Creek (named for Harmon Greathouse), about 3 miles (4.8 km) from its mouth on the Ohio River. It was commanded by Colonel Andrew Van Swearingen (1741–1793) and later by his son-in-law, Captain Samuel Brady (1756–1795). Van Swearingen led a dozen soldiers by longboat down the Ohio to help rescue the inhabitants of Fort Henry in Wheeling in a siege by the British and Indian tribes in 1777, which was memorialized in a mural at the Cove Station Post Office in Weirton. In 1779, over 28 militia were garrisoned at Fort Holliday.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Weirton. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1904Steubenville 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 Weirton.
Every building
Weirton, building by building, 1915–1923
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
The Weirton post office opened in 1910, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1947.
How does Weirton rank for history?
Weirton is more historic than 33% of U.S. towns, #44 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 Weirton?
5 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Johnston-Truax House (listed 1993, the first), and 1 structure.
How old are the homes in Weirton?
12% of Weirton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.3 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 (5), 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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