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Welcome to Terra Alta ...

The town of Terra Alta is located in Preston County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Terra Alta, you might consider that their post office opened in 1883.

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, Terra Alta has a population of 1,510 people<2> (see below for details).

Terra Alta is 2,580 feet [786 m] above sea level.<3> In other words, the elevation of Terra Alta is about ½ mile above sea level.

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

Area Codes for Terra Alta: 304 & 681<4>

The ZIP code for Terra Alta: 26764<5>

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Terra Alta had an population of 1,510 people. This is an increase of 2.23% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 3.71% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Terra Alta had a population of 1,477 people. This makes Terra Alta the county's 2nd most populous community.

The population of Terra Alta represents 0.08% of the population of West Virginia (which has 1,852,994 people), making it the state's 84th most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 1,477 people, the population of Terra Alta increased 1.44% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 1,456 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for Terra Alta.

Communities Also Named Terra Alta ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found another community named Terra Alta - it's located in Ohio.

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

Communities near Terra Alta ...

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

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 Terra Alta. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Terra Alta.

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

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Terra Alta. Our list includes 5 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Terra Alta.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Terra Alta ...

Looking for more information about Terra Alta? 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 Terra Alta, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Terra Alta.

Adding Terra Alta to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Terra Alta 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 Terra Alta was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<7>

From that list, the Terra Alta post office opened in 1883.

For more details, see References and Mentions for Terra Alta.

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of West Virginia's counties, including Preston, 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 Terra Alta.
<3>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Terra Alta - 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 Terra Alta area will be assigned with one of these codes: 304 or 681. As a result, placing a call in the Terra Alta 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 Terra Alta). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Terra Alta 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/