Preston County, West Virginia
Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.
At a glance
SummaryThe National Register of Historic Places includes 21 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1973; 1 is also National Historic Landmark. Most listings are in or near Aurora, Terra Alta, Reedsville.
Summary generated automatically from the source data on this page.
Newspapers
Library of CongressNewspaper directory data for West Virginia is not yet loaded on this site. Browse Preston titles at the Library of Congress.
National Register of Historic Places
NPS NRHP14 of 21 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.
21 listed properties
| Property | City | Listed |
|---|---|---|
| Arthurdale Historic District | Arthurdale | 1989 |
| Brookside Historic District | Aurora | 2013 |
| Brown, Col. Thomas, House | Reedsville | 1994 |
| Downtown Rowlesburg Historic District | Rowlesburg | 2005 |
| Elkins Coal and Coke Company Historic District NHL | Bretz | 1983 |
| Gaymont | Aurora | 1992 |
| Gribble, A.W., Farm | Pisgah | 2009 |
| Hagans Homestead | Brandonville | 1993 |
| Indian Rocks Dining Hall | Reedsville | 2003 |
| Kingwood Historic District | Kingwood | 1994 |
| Lakin, James S., House | Terra Alta | 1997 |
| McGrew, James Clark, House | Kingwood | 1993 |
| Old Hemlock | Bruceton Mills | 2014 |
| Ralphsynder Decagonal Barn | Masontown | 1985 |
| Reckart Mill | Cranesville | 1980 |
| Red Horse Tavern | Aurora | 1973 |
| Red Horse Tavern (Boundary Increase) | Brookside | 1979 |
| Terra Alta Bank | Terra Alta | 1997 |
| Terra Alta First United Methodist Church | Terra Alta | 2022 |
| Tunnelton Railroad Depot | Tunnelton | 1996 |
| Virginia Furnace | Albright | 1999 |
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.
County formation
Newberry AHCBPreston was formed in 1818 (1818-01-19) from Monongalia.
PRESTON created by Virginia from MONONGALIA.
Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
Population by decade
CensusPreston County population from 1820 to 2020 (Census historical series).
| 1820 | 1840 | 1860 | 1880 | 1900 | 1920 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3,422 | 6,866 | 13,312 | 19,091 | 22,727 | 27,996 | 30,416 | 31,399 | 27,233 | 30,460 | 29,334 | 34,216 |
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
NPSPark units within about 40 km of the county centroid (from NPS Public POIs; no API key).
| Site | Type | Dist. |
|---|---|---|
| Fort Necessity National Battlefield | National Battlefield | 40.3 km |
Source: NPS National Datasets / Public POIs. The NPS Developer API requires a free key and was not used.
Cemeteries & historical places
USGS GNIS41 cemeteries and 13 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.
Cemeteries — 41 of 41 listed
| Name |
|---|
| Accident Cemetery |
| Albright - Saint Joe Cemetery |
| Arthurdale Cemetery |
| Beachy Cemetery |
| Beech Run Cemetery |
| Belleview Cemetery |
| Bethel Cemetery |
| Blackwood Cemetery |
| Bolyard Cemetery |
| Burns Cemetery |
| Cobun Cemetery |
| Concord Cemetery |
| Deakins Cemetery |
| Denver Cemetery |
| Dinkerberger Family Cemetery |
| East View Cemetery |
| Fair View Cemetery |
| Hunt Cemetery |
| Kight Cemetery |
| Kingwood Cemetery |
| Lenox Cemetery |
| Maple Spring Cemetery |
| Miller Cemetery |
| Miller Cemetery |
| Mount Moriah Cemetery |
| Nazareth Cemetery |
| Parnell Cemetery |
| Pleasant Grove Cemetery |
| Pratt Cemetery |
| Red Oak Cemetery |
| Reedsville Cemetery |
| Riverview Cemetery |
| Sanders Cemetery |
| Sisler Cemetery |
| Teets Cemetery |
| Union Cemetery |
| Union Cemetery |
| Watkins Cemetery |
| Webb Chapel Cemetery |
| West Cemetery |
| Wilson Cemetery |
Historical populated places — 13 of 13
| Name |
|---|
| Atlantic |
| Breedlove |
| Buckhorn |
| Florence |
| Guseman |
| Hayden |
| Oriole |
| Sutherland |
| Towson |
| Trowbridge |
| Whetsell |
| Wrights |
| Zar |
Source: USGS Geographic Names Information System (public domain). Cemeteries from the 2021 NationalFile archive; historical places from GNIS HistoricalFeatures topical extract.
Historical markers
HMdb linkMarker 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 Preston County, West Virginia
Terms: hmdb.org/copyright.asp. Linking is encouraged by HMdb.