Ritchie 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 6 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1978. Most listings are in or near Harrisville, Cairo, Pennsburo.
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 Ritchie titles at the Library of Congress.
National Register of Historic Places
NPS NRHP3 of 6 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.
6 listed properties
| Property | City | Listed |
|---|---|---|
| Bank of Cairo | Cairo | 1996 |
| Harrisville Grade School | Harrisville | 1997 |
| Harrisville Historic District | Harrisville | 2011 |
| Old Stone House | Pennsburo | 1978 |
| Pennsboro B&O Depot | Pennsboro | 2007 |
| Ritchie County Courthouse | Harrisville | 2004 |
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.
County formation
Newberry AHCBRitchie was formed in 1843 (1843-02-18) from Harrison, Lewis, Wood.
RITCHIE created by Virginia from HARRISON, LEWIS and WOOD.
Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
Population by decade
CensusRitchie County population from 1850 to 2020 (Census historical series).
| 1850 | 1860 | 1880 | 1900 | 1920 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3,902 | 6,847 | 13,474 | 18,901 | 16,506 | 15,389 | 12,535 | 10,877 | 11,442 | 10,343 | 8,444 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.
Cemeteries & historical places
USGS GNIS49 cemeteries and 6 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.
Cemeteries — 49 of 49 listed
| Name |
|---|
| Auburn Community Cemetery |
| Ayers Cemetery |
| Beckner Cemetery |
| Bethany Cemetery |
| Broadwater Cemetery |
| Buck Run Cemetery |
| Burnthouse Cemetery |
| Cunningham Cemetery |
| Douglas Cemetery |
| Elfritz Cemetery |
| Ellenboro Cemetery |
| Fairmont Cemetery |
| Fox Cemetery |
| Frederick Cemetery |
| Goose Creek Cemetery |
| Hardman Chapel Cemetery |
| Hatfield Cemetery |
| Haught Cemetery |
| Hazelgreen Cemetery |
| Heck Cemetery |
| Independent Order of Odd Fellows Cemetery |
| Indian Creek Baptist Cemetery |
| International Order of Odd Fellows Cemetery |
| King Knob Cemetery |
| Lamb Cemetery |
| Layfields Cemetery |
| Lynch Cemetery |
| Mason Cemetery |
| Masonic Cemetery |
| Masonic Cemetery |
| Metz Cemetery |
| Mole Hill Cemetery |
| Morris Cemetery |
| Mount Olive Cemetery |
| Moyers Cemetery |
| Nutter Cemetery |
| Pine Grove Cemetery |
| Pine Grove Cemetery |
| Pleasant Ridge Cemetery |
| Pullman Church Cemetery |
| Reeves Cemetery |
| Rexroach Cemetery |
| Riddles Chapel Cemetery |
| Six Cemetery |
| Stewart Cemetery |
| Swisher Cemetery |
| Taylor Cemetery |
| Westfall Cemetery |
| White Oak Cemetery |
Historical populated places — 6 of 6
| Name |
|---|
| Admiral |
| Iris |
| Laurel Junction |
| Riddle |
| Star Settlement |
| Trilby |
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 Ritchie County, West Virginia
Terms: hmdb.org/copyright.asp. Linking is encouraged by HMdb.