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History · Pinch

Pinch’s history is
mostly unwritten

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

0old images & papers
0recent photos

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

Pinch is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 2,914 at the 2020 census. It is located about 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Charleston, adjacent to Elkview and roughly 2 miles (3 km) northwest of Big Chimney. The community lies along the Elk River and is surrounded by rolling hills. The community was named after nearby Pinch Creek.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 3,262 to 2,914 (-11%). Half of its homes were built before 1983.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Pinch 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.

Be one of the first

Start Pinch’s collection

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

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Famous people from PinchWriters, athletes, leaders and more who were born in Pinch.Meet them →
By decade

Pinch, 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
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Pinch is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Pinch has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Craik-Patton House in Charleston, 7.8 miles away.

Pinch and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Pinch. Tap a dot.
Craik-Patton HouseSpring Hill Cemetery Historic DistrictAfrican Zion Baptist ChurchCol. Henry Hewitt Wood HouseMalden Historic DistrictHolly Grove Mansion

Closest to Pinch

Craik-Patton HouseCharleston · Building7.8miSpring Hill Cemetery Historic DistrictCharleston · District8.3miAfrican Zion Baptist ChurchMalden · Built 18728.6miCol. Henry Hewitt Wood HouseCharleston · Building8.7miMalden Historic DistrictMalden · District8.8mi

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. Craik-Patton House’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Pinch?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Pinch’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
📜 Clendenin📜 Charleston📜 Belle📜 Marmet
The door’s open

Where to, neighbor?

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/19 · 2025-01-01
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