Welcome to Rand ...
Although we found mention of Rand during our research, we have little information about it.<1> Given the context of how Rand was mentioned, we believe that it was a community rather than a locale or some type of landmark. We have done a cursory search and if it was a community, we haven't been able to find any evidence that it still exists..
We've added Rand to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Rand, please Contact Us.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Rand, you might consider that their post office opened in 1902.
Rand is 640 feet [195 m] above sea level.<2>.
Time Zone: The area where we believe that Rand might be (or was) located is in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time
Area Codes for Rand: 304 & 681<3>
Communities Also Named Rand ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 11 communities that are also named Rand - they are located in California, Colorado (2), Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ontario, Oregon, Pennsylvania (2) and Texas.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Rand.
Communities near Rand ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Rand.
- Clendenin
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clendenin
- Clendenin is located in Kanawha County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,098 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clendenin <4>
- Clay
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay
- Clay is located in Clay County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 430 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clay <4>
- Wellford
(5 miles [8 km] to the west) - Apgah ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest) - Elkhurst
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast) - Reamer
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west) - Valley Fork
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Fork
- Valley Fork is located in Clay County
- Falling Rock
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falling Rock
- Falling Rock is located in Kanawha County
- Kester ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north) - Hartland
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
- Hartland is located in Clay County
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 Rand. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Rand.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Rand. 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 Rand.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Rand. See our Newspapers Page for Rand.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Rand ...
Looking for more information about Rand? 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 Rand, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Rand.
Adding Rand to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Rand 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 Rand was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<7>
X2X - From that list, the Rand post office opened in 1902.
We also found Rand on a map titled Rand McNally Map of West Virginia (1911).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Rand.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Kanawha County: www.kanawha.us/
The official website for State of West Virginia: https://www.wv.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer. For example, we might find a sentence like "He went south past Rand and then turned east". While Rand could be some kind of landmark, we think that it's more likely to be a community. We've added Rand as a placeholder with the hope that we'll be able to add more information in the future. Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird Creek is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name. Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time. Also keep in mind that Rand could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. |
| <2> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Rand - 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 Rand area will be assigned with one of these codes: 304 or 681. As a result, placing a call in the Rand 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> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |