RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of West Virginia >> McDowell County >> PowhatanIndex...

Welcome to Powhatan ...

Powhatan is located in McDowell County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Powhatan, you might consider that their post office opened  in 1889.

Powhatan is 1,810 feet [552 m] above sea level.<2>.

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

Area Codes for Powhatan: 304 & 681<3>

Communities Also Named Powhatan ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are two West Virginia communities named Powhatan: This one is located in McDowell County and the other is located in Marshall County.

Beyond West Virginia, there are 10 communities that are also named Powhatan - they are located in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia (3).

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Powhatan.

Communities near Powhatan ...

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

  • Bluefield
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Princeton
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
  • Bluefield
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Welch
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welch
    • Welch is located in McDowell County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,575 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Welch <4>
  • Mullens
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Gary
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gary have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gary
    • Gary is located in McDowell County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 759 people
  • War
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for War have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for War
    • War is located in McDowell County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 659 people
  • Pineville
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Pocahontas
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocahontas
    • Pocahontas is located in Tazewell County (VA)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 348 people
  • Bramwell
    (7 miles [11.3 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 Powhatan. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Powhatan.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Powhatan. 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 Powhatan.

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

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Powhatan ...

Looking for more information about Powhatan? 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.

While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Powhatan, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Powhatan.

Adding Powhatan to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Powhatan 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 for Powhatan was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<6>

From that list, the Powhatan post office opened in 1889.

We also found Powhatan in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Powhatan.

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>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Powhatan - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<3>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 Powhatan area will be assigned with one of these codes: 304 or 681. As a result, placing a call in the Powhatan area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number).
<4>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<5>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<6>A copy of their list with background information can be found at:

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