A Preston County community
Terra Alta’s timeline follows a railroad settlement known successively as Cranberry Summit, Portland, Cranberry, and Terra Alta. Its entries connect transportation, commerce, banking, education, health care, and changing community identity.
This overview is drawn from the timeline entries and the source trails on their individual event pages.Community timeline
1853
Local community history dates Terra Alta's founding to 1853 as a settlement grew at the high point of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Known during its early history as Cranberry or Cranberry Summit, the community was…
Open event and sourcesMarch 13, 1860
The Virginia General Assembly passed an act incorporating the town of Portland, formerly known as Cranberry Summit, Preston County.
Open event and sourcesJanuary 12, 1882
The West Virginia Legislature passed an act changing the name of the town of Portland to Cranberry, Preston County. It was approved by the governor on January 19.
Open event and sourcesAugust 18, 1885
In a meeting at their main office at Terra Alta, Preston County, stockholders of the Buffalo Creek Boom and Dam Company elected to dissolve their company. The president was Scott T. Jones.
Open event and sourcesSeptember 1885
After growing up in Terra Alta and graduating with honors from the Woman’s Medical College of Baltimore in 1884, Harriet B. Jones began practicing medicine in Wheeling in September 1885. She became the first woman licensed as…
Open event and sourcesApril 10, 1890
The Terra Alta Creamery Company was incorporated in West Virginia by the following: George A. Mayer, D. E. Foreman, A. J. Elliott, W. T. White, John M. Freeland, John D. Rigg, Parley DeBerry, John C. Mayer, Joseph M. Matheny,…
Open event and sources1890
The town's official history says the community was incorporated by circuit court as Terra Alta in 1890. The municipal milestone followed its earlier identities as Cranberry Summit, Portland, and Cranberry.
Open event and sourcesOctober 21, 1891
Business owners and community leaders secured a charter for the Terra Alta Bank on October 21, 1891, establishing Preston County's second bank and the first to serve the eastern part of the county. Directors were elected on…
Open event and sourcesOctober 21, 1891
The Terra Alta Bank was chartered in Terra Alta in 1891. More than a century later, it combined with Bruceton Bank in the transaction that created Clear Mountain Bank.
Open event and sourcesOctober 1893
The permanent Terra Alta Bank building opened in October 1893 after construction began the previous year. The three-story Italianate commercial building at East Washington and Latrobe streets was constructed by Gakes Brothers…
Open event and sourcesFebruary 20, 1899
The West Virginia Legislature passed an act establishing the independent school district of Terra Alta, Preston County. It was approved by the governor on February 24.
Open event and sources1910
Morton reports that a hard-fought 1910 campaign and popular vote to relocate the county seat to Terra Alta ended with Kingwood retaining it by a narrow margin.
Open event and sourcesFebruary 11, 1911
The West Virginia Legislature passed an act authorizing a state tuberculosis sanitarium on February 11; the governor approved it on February 18. The authorization followed years of campaigning by the Anti-Tuberculosis League…
Open event and sources1913
Three cottages were constructed at the State Tuberculosis Sanitarium near Terra Alta in 1913, providing space for 60 patients. The construction developed the institution authorized in 1911; it did not mark the sanitarium’s…
Open event and sourcesNovember 1924
Harriet B. Jones, who had grown up in Terra Alta, was elected as a Republican to represent Marshall County in the West Virginia House of Delegates. She was one of two women elected to the House that November and later won…
Open event and sources1925
Terra Alta High School opened at its new location in 1925 with approximately 100 students and eight teachers. Its first graduating class at the new school completed its studies in spring 1926. The building later became the…
Open event and sourcesDecember 5, 1931–January 16, 1936
The Terra Alta Bank operated under depositors' agreements and State Banking Commission restrictions from December 5, 1931, through January 16, 1936. Federal deposit insurance protected deposits up to $5,000 beginning in…
Open event and sources1965
The West Virginia Legislature passed House Bill 994 on March 10, 1965, discontinuing Hopemont’s exclusively tuberculosis-focused sanitarium and establishing Hopemont State Hospital for chronically ill, aged, and infirm…
Open event and sourcesJanuary 1977
Persistent northwest winds brought repeated snowfalls during West Virginia’s coldest month on record. Terra Alta measured 104 inches of snow during January, establishing a state monthly snowfall record.
Open event and sources1977
Preston County reorganized several community high schools under three regional identities in 1977. Kingwood High School became Central Preston High School; Terra Alta and Aurora high schools consolidated as East Preston Senior…
Open event and sourcesJune 24, 1991
After 98 years in its 1893 building, the Terra Alta Bank opened a modern facility on State Route 7 on June 24, 1991. In June 1993, the former bank building was sold to the Preston County Historical Society for ten dollars and…
Open event and sourcesOctober 11, 2005
On October 11, 2005, Bruceton Bank acquired its affiliate, The Terra Alta Bank, and the combined institution became Clear Mountain Bank. The bank remained headquartered in Bruceton Mills while continuing the older banks'…
Open event and sourcesThreads through time
Trace the settlement’s development from Cranberry Summit through Portland and Cranberry to incorporation under the name Terra Alta.
Follow the railroad-era community, creamery, bank, schools, and other institutions that helped shape the town.
Explore the nearby state tuberculosis sanitarium and its later development as Hopemont State Hospital.
People counted within the town boundary at each census. These are town totals; surrounding magisterial districts are separate areas.
| Census year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1910 | 1,126 |
| 1920 | 1,261 |
| 1930 | 1,474 |
| 1940 | 1,471 |
| 1950 | 1,649 |
| 1960 | 1,504 |
| 1970 | 1,474 |
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 →6 indexed National Archives images documenting postal locations and surroundings, with descriptions and research notes.
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 666, 667, 668, 669, 670, 671. View the original collection.