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Jefferson County, West Virginia

Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.

—newspaper titles
—digitized titles
97historic places
—earliest paper
1801formed
57,701pop. 2020
21cemeteries
15CW battlefields

At a glance

Summary

The National Register of Historic Places includes 97 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1966; 2 are also National Historic Landmarks. Most listings are in or near Charles Town, Shepherdstown, Kearneysville.

Summary generated automatically from the source data on this page.

Newspapers

Library of Congress

Newspaper directory data for West Virginia is not yet loaded on this site. Browse Jefferson titles at the Library of Congress.

National Register of Historic Places

NPS NRHP

49 of 97 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.

97 listed properties
PropertyCityTypeListed
Allemong, Christian, HouseSummit PointBuilding2003
Allstadt House and OrdinaryHarper's FerryBuilding1985
AltonaCharles TownBuilding1995
Aspen HillCharles TownBuilding1980
BarleywoodCharles TownBuilding2007
Beallair (Additional Documentation)HalltownBuilding1973
BelvedereCharles TownBuilding1984
BeverleyCharles TownBuilding1987
Beverley Boundary IncreaseCharles TownDistrict2010
BlakeleyCharles TownBuilding1982
Boidstones PlaceShepherdstownDistrict1999
Bower, TheLeetownBuilding1982
Burr, Peter, HouseShenandoah JunctionBuilding1982
Cedar LawnCharles TownBuilding1974
Charles Town Mining, Manufacturing, and Improvement Company BuildingRansonBuilding2001
Charles Town, Old, Historic DistrictCharles TownDistrict2000
Claymont CourtCharles TownBuilding1973
Clipp Tenant HouseBuilding
Cold SpringShepherdstownBuilding1973
Continental Clay Brick PlantBuilding
Cool Spring FarmCharles TownBuilding2007
Downtown Charles Town Historic DistrictCharles TownDistrict1997
Duffields DepotShenandoah JunctionBuilding2007
ElmwoodShepherdstownBuilding1973
Elmwood-on-the-OpequonKearneysvilleBuilding2006
Falling Spring-Morgan's GroveShepherdstownDistrict1989
Feagans' Mill ComplexCharles TownBuilding2017
Frederick Rosenberger FarmKearneysvilleDistrict2024
Fruit HillShepherdstownBuilding1988
Gap View FarmCharles TownDistrict1997
Gibson-Todd HouseCharles TownBuilding1983
GlenburnieShenandoah JunctionBuilding1988
Grubb, William, FarmCharles TownDistrict1991
Haines, Nathan, FarmCharles TownBuilding2022
Haines, Nathan, Farm (Boundary Increase)Charles TownBuilding2023
Halltown Colored Free SchoolHalltownBuilding2004
Halltown Union Colored Sunday SchoolHalltownBuilding1984
HarewoodCharles TownBuilding1973
Harpers Ferry Historic DistrictHarpers FerryDistrict1979
Harpers Ferry National Historical ParkHarpers FerryDistrict1966
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park (Boundary Increase)Harpers FerryDistrict2016
HazelfieldShenandoah JunctionBuilding1976
HillsideCharles TownBuilding1985
HopewellCharles TownBuilding1994
Houser-Mahoney HouseBakertonBuilding2025
Isaac Clymer FarmHarpers FerryDistrict2025
Jacks-Manning FarmCharles TownBuilding1984
Jacob Folk HouseShepherdstownBuilding2025
Jefferson County Alms HouseLeetownBuilding1995
Jefferson County CourthouseCharles TownBuilding1973
Jefferson County Courthouse NHLCharles TownBuilding
Lee-Longsworth HouseHarpers FerryBuilding1985
Lucas, Capt. William and Lucas, Robert, HouseShepherdstownBuilding1982
Marshall, James, HouseShepherdstownBuilding1988
Media FarmCharles TownBuilding1994
Middleway Historic DistrictMiddlewayDistrict1980
Morgan's GroveShepherdstownDistrict1999
Morgan-Bedinger-Dandridge HouseShepherdstownBuilding1983
New Opera HouseCharles TownBuilding1978
Osbourn, James, FarmSheperdstownSite2023
Peter Burr HouseBuilding
Potomac MillsShepardstownDistrict2014
Prato RioLeetownBuilding1973
Rees-Daniel FarmKearneysvilleBuilding2024
Rellim FarmKearneysvilleDistrict1998
Richwood HallCharles TownBuilding1973
Rion HallCharles TownBuilding1982
Ripon Lodge (Boundary Increase)RipponDistrict1998
Rock SpringShepherdstownBuilding2008
RocklandShepherdstownDistrict1990
Rocks, TheCharles TownDistrict2020
Rose Hill FarmShepherdstownBuilding1990
Rumsey HallShepherdstownBuilding1973
Shannondale SpringsShannondaleSite1998
Shepherd's MillShepherdstownBuilding1971
Shepherdstown Historic DistrictShepherdstownDistrict1973
Shepherdstown Historic District (Boundary Increase)ShepherdstownDistrict1987
South Charles Town Historic DistrictCharles TownDistrict2009
Spring GroveCharles TownBuilding2021
St. George's ChapelCharles TownSite2001
St. Peter's Roman Catholic ChurchHarpers FerryBuilding1973
Stone House MansionBuilding
Strider FarmHarpers FerryBuilding1988
Sunnyside FarmKearneysvilleDistrict1999
Tackley FarmShenandoah JunctionBuilding1994
Taylor’s MeadowShepherdstownDistrict2021
The HermitageCharles TownBuilding1993
Traveller's Rest NHLKearneysvilleBuilding1972
Van Swearingen-Shepherd HouseShepherdstownBuilding1983
Washington, Charles, HouseCharles TownBuilding1973
Weirick and Weller WaterwheelCharles TownStructure2022
White House FarmSummit PointBuilding1979
WoodburyLeetownBuilding1974
WoodbyrneCharles TownDistrict2024
WoodlawnKearneysvilleBuilding2000
Worthington, Robert, HouseCharles TownBuilding1973
York HillShenandoah JunctionBuilding2006

Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.

County formation

Newberry AHCB

Jefferson was formed in 1801 (1801-10-26) from Berkeley.

JEFFERSON created by Virginia from BERKELEY; on 2 November 1863 became a county in the state of West Virginia.

Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

Population by decade

Census

Jefferson County population from 1810 to 2020 (Census historical series).

58k35k12k1810184018801920196020002020
1810182018401860188019001920194019501960198020002020
11,85113,08714,08214,53515,00515,93515,72916,76217,18418,66530,30242,19057,701

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.

National Park Service sites nearby

NPS

Park units within about 40 km of the county centroid (from NPS Public POIs; no API key).

SiteTypeDist.
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical ParkPark unit8.8 km
Harpers Ferry National Historical ParkPark unit10.4 km
Appalachian National Scenic TrailNational Scenic Trail11.5 km
Antietam National BattlefieldPark unit20.7 km

Source: NPS National Datasets / Public POIs. The NPS Developer API requires a free key and was not used.

Cemeteries & historical places

USGS GNIS

21 cemeteries and 2 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.

Cemeteries — 21 of 21 listed
NameLatLon
Buckles - Reverend Black Cemetery39.392-77.79957
Cedar Hill Cemetery39.32843-77.75233
Chestnut Hill Cemetery39.2712-77.76832
Edge Hill Cemetery39.28899-77.8525
Elk Branch Cemetery39.36482-77.82777
Elmwood Cemetery39.42926-77.8136
Fairview Cemetery39.26982-77.87583
Franklintown Cemetery39.20787-77.93111
Harper Cemetery39.32315-77.73416
Jamestown Prosperity Cemetery39.23843-77.98444
Johnsontown Cemetery39.34009-77.8911
Kabletown Churchyard Cemetery39.21343-77.86027
Kearneysville Cemetery39.38799-77.88632
Prospect Hall-Edwards-Hunsicker Cemetery39.27686-78.02621
Reformed Graveyard39.42843-77.80221
Saint James Cemetery39.36787-77.79944
Shepherds Graveyard39.43009-77.80749
Silver Grove Cemetery39.2962-77.75527
Uvilla Cemetery39.36593-77.79971
Washington Burial Ground39.30204-77.91638
Zion Cemetery39.28898-77.8561
Historical populated places — 2 of 2
NameLatLon
Harmony39.26316-77.86722
Virginius39.32149-77.73972

Source: USGS Geographic Names Information System (public domain). Cemeteries from the 2021 NationalFile archive; historical places from GNIS HistoricalFeatures topical extract.

Civil War battlefields nearby

ABPP

American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) Civil War study areas near this county.

BattlefieldStudy acresDist.Site ID
Summit Point5,1325.0 kmWV014
Smithfield Crossing3,1308.8 kmWV015
Harpers Ferry7,1919.4 kmWV010
Shepherdstown13,82012.5 kmWV016
Berryville7,01217.9 kmVA118
Cool Spring5,74420.1 kmVA114
Antietam7,38921.0 kmMD003
Opequon13,58825.0 kmVA119
Hoke'S Run2,24126.3 kmWV002
Winchester Ii17,74828.3 kmVA107
South Mountain2,29728.5 kmMD002
Boonsborough1,93330.2 kmMD006
Kernstown I4,02634.1 kmVA101
Kernstown Ii5,85734.2 kmVA116
Balls Bluff8034.9 kmVA006

Source: NPS American Battlefield Protection Program Civil War Study Areas (public ArcGIS feature service).

Historical markers

HMdb link

Marker text and photos from the Historical Marker Database (HMdb) are not embedded here. HMdb allows non-commercial reuse with attribution, but commercial/compensated use needs written permission; this is a commercial site, so we only link out.

Search HMdb for Jefferson County, West Virginia

Terms: hmdb.org/copyright.asp. Linking is encouraged by HMdb.