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Welcome to Northfork ...

The town of Northfork is located in McDowell County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Northfork, you might consider that their post office opened in 1901.

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, Northfork has a population of 336 people<2> (see below for details).

Northfork is 1,880 feet [573 m] above sea level.<3>.

Time Zone: Northfork lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Codes for Northfork: 304 & 681<4>

The ZIP code for Northfork: 24868<5>

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Northfork had an population of 336 people. This is a decrease of 21.68% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 35.26% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Northfork had a population of 429 people. This makes Northfork the county's 4th most populous community.

The population of Northfork represents 0.02% of the population of West Virginia (which has 1,852,994 people), making it the state's 171st most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 429 people, the population of Northfork decreased 17.34% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 519 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for Northfork.

Communities near Northfork ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Northfork.

  • Bluefield
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Princeton
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
  • Bluefield
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Welch
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Welch is located in McDowell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welch
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,575 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Welch <6>
  • Mullens
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Gary
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Gary is located in McDowell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gary
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 759 people
  • War
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • War is located in McDowell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for War
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 659 people
  • Pineville
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Pocahontas
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Pocahontas is located in Tazewell County (VA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocahontas
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 348 people
  • Bramwell
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Northfork. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Northfork.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Northfork. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Northfork.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Northfork. See our Newspapers Page for Northfork.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Northfork ...

Looking for more information about Northfork? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for Northfork, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Northfork.

Adding Northfork to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Northfork in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found (so far) for Northfork was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<7>

From that list, the Northfork post office opened in 1901.

For more details, see References and Mentions for Northfork.

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of West Virginia's counties, including McDowell, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Northfork.
<3>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Northfork - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<4>When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 304 code has been Overlayed with the 681 area code. New phone numbers in the Northfork area will be assigned with one of these codes: 304 or 681. As a result, placing a call in the Northfork area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number).
<5>ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a town (such as Northfork). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Northfork or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).
<6>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<7>A copy of the Blevins & Helbock Post Office list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/