The story so far
from Wikipedia & the U.S. CensusLester is a town in Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 337 at the 2020 census. The community was named after Champ Lester, a local pioneer.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 348 to 338 (-3%). Half of its homes were built before 1983.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Lester 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.
Start Lester’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lester’s history is told.
0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Lester, decade by decade
2000
Nothing in Lester is on the National Register yet
That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Lester has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is New Salem Baptist Church in Lester, 2.2 miles away.
Lester and the nearest listed places
How a place gets listed
Then & now
When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.
Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (6). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.