A Preston County community
Reedsville’s timeline includes its 1906 incorporation, Civil War-era events in the surrounding region, and the twentieth-century end of rail service along the corridor that became the Deckers Creek Trail. The postal records preserve earlier location descriptions and connections with the railroad landscape. Reedsville’s visual history, including material in the James Brown collection, will be added separately as it is reviewed and prepared.
This overview draws on the connected timeline entries and the checked National Archives postal index. Follow the links below for sources and research qualifications.Community timeline
June 22, 1861
Morton records a flag presentation to Captain Kirk's volunteers at Pleasant Valley church between Masontown and Reedsville before the company was mustered at Baltimore.
Open event and sourcesApril 28, 1863 (sequence-based date)
In Morton's day-by-day sequence, Confederate troops cut cables on the Albright suspension bridge, entered Kingwood, and continued through Reedsville toward Morgantown.
Open event and sources1906
Local community history dates Reedsville's incorporation to 1906. The town was named for James Reed, who owned much of the land on which the community developed.
Open event and sourcesMay 27, 1938
President Franklin D. Roosevelt visited Arthurdale and delivered the high school's commencement address on May 27, 1938. The occasion is remembered as the only high-school commencement address of his presidency, placing the…
Open event and sources1953
Passenger service on the former Morgantown & Kingwood Railroad ended in 1953. The route remained in use for freight, carrying coal, limestone, and other industrial traffic under Baltimore & Ohio operation.
Open event and sourcesJanuary 5, 1972
The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad applied for authority to abandon approximately 9.49 miles of its Morgantown and Kingwood Branch between Reedsville and Kingwood. Removal of this middle section divided the former M&K into western…
Open event and sources1990–1991
The last train reportedly ran over the western Morgantown–Reedsville portion of the former M&K in 1990. With no traffic remaining in 1991, CSX abandoned the section; its rails were removed in the early 1990s, leaving the…
Open event and sources1995
An informal group of kayakers, rock climbers, anglers, and other creek supporters formed Friends of Deckers Creek, beginning with illegal-dump cleanups and water-quality monitoring. The organization serves the full Deckers…
Open event and sources1996
In 1996, the 51-mile former CSX corridor that included the Morgantown–Reedsville portion of the M&K was acquired and railbanked as a nonmotorized trail system. The conversion preserved the abandoned railroad grade for public…
Open event and sources1998
Construction of the Mon River and Deckers Creek rail-trail system began in 1998, and the network's first section opened that year. The former M&K grade along Deckers Creek was developed in phases into a public route for…
Open event and sourcesPeople counted within the town boundary at each census. These are town totals; surrounding magisterial districts are separate areas.
| Census year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1910 | 208 |
| 1920 | 254 |
| 1930 | 345 |
| 1940 | 324 |
| 1950 | 321 |
| 1960 | 398 |
| 1970 | 379 |
U.S. Census, 1930, Population, Volume I, West Virginia, Table 4, printed page 1170 (PDF page 118). View the census table ↗
1940 counts: 1940 Census, Population, Volume I, West Virginia, Table 4, printed page 1150 (PDF page 133), also checked against the 1940 column in the 1950 report. View the 1940 census table
1950 counts: 1950 Census, Number of Inhabitants, West Virginia, Table 7, printed pages 48-12–48-13 (PDF pages 12–13), checked against Table 6, page 48-11. View the 1950 town totals
1960 counts: 1960 Census, Number of Inhabitants, West Virginia, Table 8, printed pages 50-14–50-15 (PDF pages 14–15), checked against the 1960 column in the 1970 report. View the 1960 town totals
1970 counts: 1970 Census, Number of Inhabitants, West Virginia, Table 6, printed pages 50-11–50-12 (PDF pages 11–12), checked against Table 10, page 50-18. View the 1970 town totals
Town boundaries can change between censuses, so changes in these counts do not necessarily represent growth within a fixed area.
Explore Preston County’s population history →Six location questionnaires and maps from 1868, 1876, 1905, and 1942 document the office’s surroundings over time. They identify nearby roads, rail service, waterways, and neighboring communities, providing a source-based complement to the existing timeline rather than a full history of the town.
Explore all 6 postal recordsRecord dates are not necessarily office opening or closing dates. Applications and proposed moves retain their original qualifications.
National Archives · M1126, roll 651 · NARA pages 632, 633, 634, 635, 636, 637. View the original collection.
Two federal records document Arzana M. Ward’s 1918 entry and the postmasters who followed her, with later entries through 1971. Recorded dates describe individual actions, not complete terms of service.
Explore Reedsville postmasters