Welcome to Sophia ...
The town of Sophia is located in Raleigh County<1>.
The location of Sophia has been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (ie- the GNIS).<2>
Sophia was established in 1912.
The origin (or the toponymy) of Sophia: Named after S.O. Dunlap
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Sophia has a population of 1,237 people<3> (see below for details).
The community of Sophia is 2,390 feet [728 m] above sea level.<4> In other words, the elevation of Sophia is about ½ mile above sea level.
Time Zone: Sophia lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time
Area codes for Sophia: (304) and (681)<5>
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Sophia had an population of 1,237 people. This is a decrease of 7.96% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 4.92% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Sophia had a population of 1,344 people. This makes Sophia the county's 3rd most populous community.
The population of Sophia represents 0.07% of the total population of West Virginia (which has 1,852,994 people), making it the state's 93rd most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 1,344 people, the population of Sophia increased 3.31% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 1,301 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Sophia.
Communities Also Named Sophia ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 5 communities that are also named Sophia - they are located in Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma and South Carolina.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Sophia.
Communities near Sophia ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Sophia.
- Beckley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beckley
- Beckley is located in Raleigh County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15,805 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Beckley <6>
- Mullens
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mullens
- Mullens is located in Wyoming County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,288 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mullens <6>
- Mount Hope
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Hope have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hope
- Mount Hope is located in Fayette County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,259 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mount Hope <6>
- Mabscott
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast) - Pineville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pineville
- Pineville is located in Wyoming County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 567 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pineville <6>
- Matoaka
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south) - Rhodell
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south) - Pax
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north) - Thurmond
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thurmond
- Thurmond is located in Fayette County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Thurmond <6>
- MacArthur
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for MacArthur have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for MacArthur
- MacArthur is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for MacArthur <6>
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 Sophia. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Sophia.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Sophia. 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 Sophia.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Sophia. See our Newspapers Page for Sophia.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Sophia ...
Looking for more information about Sophia? 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 Sophia, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Sophia.
Adding Sophia to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Sophia 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 Sophia was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<7>
From that list, the Sophia post office opened in 1909.
We also found Sophia on a map titled Rand McNally Map of West Virginia (1911).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Sophia.
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Sophia. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of West Virginia: https://www.wv.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of West Virginia's counties, including Raleigh, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Sophia. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Sophia - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <5> | Area code (681) is an overlay for area code (304). |
| <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 their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |