Williamson’s post office opened in 1892, and 33% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 86% of U.S. towns · #18 of 61 in West Virginia. What drives it
6 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 286 buildings. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1915 on, and the census since 1900.
The Williamson post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Goodman (1904), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 688 in 19002020 census: 3,083134 years
How historic is Williamson?
A
More historic than 86% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Williamson post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Williamson’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Williamson is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns, #18 of 61 in West Virginia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Williamson’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 Williamson’s 997 sits above most of its state (94% of West Virginia towns have fewer) while its 291 historic buildings outnumber those of 95% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±10.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Williamson’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Williamson’s post office has been open since 1892. Another post office, Goodman, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Williamson
1892–today
Goodman
1904–1920
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
East WilliamsonFairviewGoodmanVictoria CourtWest WilliamsonWilliamson Terrace
Gone or out of use
Church of ChristchurchDubois Public SchoolschoolEast End Public SchoolschoolMingo County AirportairportMingo County JailbuildingWest Williamson Elementary Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Williamson
FairviewWilliamson
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
People over time
Williamson, census by census
Peaked at 9,410 in 1930; 3,083 people lived here in 2020.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Williamson’s Wikipedia page.
Williamson was incorporated in 1905. Most historians believe that Williamson was named in honor of Wallace J. Williamson. He owned the land where Williamson now stands, earned a fortune in real estate investments in the area, and founded the city's first bank and its first hotel. Others claim that the city was named for Wallace's father, Benjamin F. Williamson. He owned most of the land in the region before dividing it among his sons.
Williamson grew rapidly once the railroad connected into the town. Its population, just 688 in 1900, jumped to 6,819 in 1920 and 9,410 in 1930.
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.
The Williamson post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Williamson rank for history?
Williamson is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns, #18 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 Williamson?
6 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Coal House (listed 1980, the first), and 1 historic district, the Williamson Historic District, with 286 contributing buildings. 291 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Williamson?
33% of Williamson’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.4 points), against a typical 13% for a West Virginia town; the median home was built in 1951.
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 (1), the Library of Congress (4), the National Register of Historic Places (6), 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.
1935
1935
1935
1935
