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History · Whitesville

Whitesville’s post office opened in 1903, and 35% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Whitesville School. Below: maps from 1912 on and the census since 1940.

1903first post office
1on the National Register
35%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Whitesville began

When was Whitesville founded?

1903

The Whitesville post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Jarrolds Valley (1856) and Mordue (1918), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 942 in 19402020 census: 361123 years
Founding year: the first Whitesville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Whitesville’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 Whitesville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Whitesville, and 3 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19127 editions of the USGS map, 1912 to 1996. Watch Whitesville change.Old housesHalf of Whitesville’s homes were built before 1953.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Whitesville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Whitesville’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

Whitesville’s post office has been open since 1903. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Jarrolds Valley
1856–1928
Whitesville
1903–today
Mordue
1918–1923
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Elk Run JunctionJanieJarrolds Valley

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

On the map

Whitesville on the map, 1912 to 1996

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

Whitesville on the 1912 USGS mapWhitesville on the 1928 USGS mapWhitesville on the 1931 USGS mapWhitesville on the 1968 USGS mapWhitesville on the 1976 USGS mapWhitesville on the 1988 USGS mapWhitesville on the 1996 USGS map1912Bald Knob 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 Whitesville.

The story so far

Whitesville, in brief

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

Whitesville is a town and former coal town in Boone County, West Virginia, United States, along the Big Coal River. The population was 361 at the 2020 census. Whitesville was incorporated on August 15, 1935, by the Boone County Circuit Court. The town derives its name from B. W. White, a pioneer settler. Whitesville was formerly known as Jarrold's Valley and Pritchard City.

Its first post office opened in 1903. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 514 to 361 (-30%).

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

Timeline

Whitesville, 1856 to 1928

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1856Post officeThe Jarrolds Valley post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1903Post officeThe Whitesville post office opens
  5. 1912On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1918Post officeThe Mordue post office opens
  7. 1923Post officeThe Mordue post office closes
  8. 1928Post officeThe Jarrolds Valley post office closes
By decade

Whitesville, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Whitesville-WV3-wv2018Whitesville-WV3-wvWhitesville-WV3-south-wv2018Whitesville-WV3-south-wvWhitesville-WV3-block-wv2018Whitesville-WV3-block-wvWhitesville-Upper-Big-Branch-Mine-disaster-sign-wv2018Whitesville-Upper-Big-Branch-Mine-disaster-sign-wvWhitesville-Big-Coal-River-wv2018Whitesville-Big-Coal-River-wvFEMA - 3611 - Photograph by Leif Skoogfors taken on 07-13-2001 in West Virginia2001FEMA - 3611 - Photograph by Leif Skoogfors taken on 0…
On the National Register

1 historic place in Whitesville

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
2013
Whitesville School
Whitesville School
Buildings
Whitesville SchoolBuilding

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

People over time

Whitesville, census by census

02004006008001,00019401960198020002020Peak: 1,017

Between 361 and 1,017 people in every census since 1940.

9 censuses, 1940–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Whitesville

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

See all →
Jerry WestAmerican basketball player and executive · b. 1938
Little Jimmy DickensAmerican musician · b. 1920
Mike BarrettAmerican basketball player · b. 1943
L
Lou MyersAmerican actor · b. 1935
Elizabeth StephensAmerican artist and filmmaker · b. 1960
Leonard S. EcholsAmerican politician · b. 1871

Questions about Whitesville’s history

What year was Whitesville founded?

The Whitesville post office opened in 1903, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Whitesville?

One place: the Whitesville School (listed 2013).

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 National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.