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History · West Dunbar

Half of West Dunbar’s homes were built after 1986

Most of West Dunbar was built recently: 0.3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: maps from 1909 on.

0on the National Register
0.3%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about West Dunbar’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 West Dunbar are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19094 editions of the USGS map, 1909 to 1971. Watch West Dunbar change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start West Dunbar’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

West Dunbar on the map, 1909 to 1971

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

West Dunbar on the 1909 USGS mapWest Dunbar on the 1931 USGS mapWest Dunbar on the 1958 USGS mapWest Dunbar on the 1971 USGS map1909Saint Albans 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 West Dunbar.

The story so far

West Dunbar, in brief

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

West Dunbar is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 617. West Dunbar is in the western part of the county, on the north side of the Kanawha River valley. It is bordered to the south and east by the city of Dunbar. West Virginia Route 25 (Fairlawn Avenue) forms the northeast border of the community. Route 25 leads southeast into Dunbar and east 8 miles (13 km) to Charleston, the state capital, while in the other direction it leads northwest 6 miles (10 km) to Nitro. Interstate 64 runs parallel to Route 25 just outside the CDP; the closest highway access is from Exit 50, 1 m…

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

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.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Famous people

Famous people close to West Dunbar

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

See all →
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
Kathy MatteaAmerican musician, activist · b. 1959
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Gone or out of use
West Dunbar Schoolschool

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.

Dunbar1 historic placeC

Questions about West Dunbar’s history

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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.