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History · Durbin

Durbin’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Durbin. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
12recent photos

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

Durbin is a town in Pocahontas County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 235 at the 2020 census. The town was named in 1895 in honor of Charles R. Durbin Sr, the Grafton, WV bank official responsible for lending funds to John T. McGraw to purchase the site of the town in 1890.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 293 to 231 (-21%). Half of its homes were built before 1946.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Durbin yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.

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Start Durbin’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Durbin’s history is told.

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people close to Durbin

See all 29 →
WHWill HareElkins · 26 miGeorge W. MaherGeorge W. MaherMill Creek · 15 miCharles R. HollandCharles R. HollandElkins · 26 miFHFuzzy HaskinsElkins · 26 miMarjorie JoynerMarjorie JoynerMonterey · 16 miPatricia Kennedy GrimstedPatricia Kennedy GrimstedElkins · 26 mi
By decade

Durbin, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
Today12 photos
Vintage railroad cars belonging to the Durbin and Greenbrier Valley excursion railroad, outside the depot in the tiny s…LOCVintage railroad cars belonging to the Durbin and Greenbrie…2015Train depot in the tiny settlement of Durbin, near the headwaters of the Greenbrier River in Pocahontas County, West Vi…LOCTrain depot in the tiny settlement of Durbin, near the head…2015Streetscape in the tiny settlement of Durbin, near the headwaters of the Greenbrier River in Pocahontas County, West Vi…LOCStreetscape in the tiny settlement of Durbin, near the head…2015Streetscape in the tiny settlement of Durbin, near the headwaters of the Greenbrier River in Pocahontas County, West Vi…LOCStreetscape in the tiny settlement of Durbin, near the head…2015Streetscape in the tiny settlement of Durbin, near the headwaters of the Greenbrier River in Pocahontas County, West Vi…CommonsStreetscape in the tiny settlement of Durbin, near the head…2015Durbin WV Milky WayCommonsDurbin WV Milky Way2014Number 3 at Raven CornerCommonsNumber 3 at Raven Corner2013EngineCommonsEngine2013Yes, its RealCommonsYes, its Real2009Durbin & Greenbrier Valley RR StationCommonsDurbin & Greenbrier Valley RR Station2009Durbin & Greenbrier Valley CaboosesCommonsDurbin & Greenbrier Valley Cabooses2009WVMap-doton-DurbinCommonsWVMap-doton-Durbin2004
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Durbin is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Durbin has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Camp Bartow Historic District in Bartow, 3.3 miles away.

Durbin and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Durbin. Tap a dot.
Camp Bartow Historic DistrictReber Radio TelescopeSee Mail Pouch BarnMiddle Mountain CabinsCass Scenic RailroadCass Historic District

Closest to Durbin

Camp Bartow Historic DistrictBartow · District3.3miReber Radio TelescopeGreen Bank · Built 19378.1miSee Mail Pouch BarnValley Head · Building10.8miMiddle Mountain CabinsBartow · Building11miCass Scenic RailroadCass · Built 196111.4mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Camp Bartow Historic District’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Durbin?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Durbin’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Huttonsville📜 Mill Creek📜 Monterey📜 Beverly

From Wikimedia Commons (8) and the Library of Congress (4). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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