The History of War

~1788 — War Creek gets its name

War Creek took its name from a battle fought near the creek's source around 1788. The town that grew up along it took the creek's name — and kept it. It was first known as Miner's City.

~1870 — First settlers

Settlement began in earnest around 1870. John E. Harman was among the first, settling the hollow that still carries his name as John's Branch.

1904–1906 — The railroad and the post office

The Norfolk & Western Railroad arrived in 1904, and the coal followed it. The post office opened in 1906. Tipples went up, coal camps spread through the hollows — Caretta, Coalwood, Berwind — and War became a working coal town.

1920 — A town, officially

War was incorporated on April 6, 1920 — the only incorporated town in the United States named War.

1933–34 — The union comes

The United Mine Workers unionized the camps in 1933–34, in the middle of the hard years. The union hall and the company store both shaped daily life here for a generation.

1950 — The golden age

War peaked at around 4,000 people in 1950. Three movie theaters on Main Street. The War Hotel and the War Arcade anchored a downtown that stayed busy long after dark. West Virginia Route 16 through town follows the old War Path.

1932–2010 — Big Creek High and the Rocket Boys

Big Creek High School stood from 1932 to 2010. Its most famous students were the Rocket Boys of nearby Coalwood — Homer Hickam and his friends, whose story became the book and film October Sky. Excelsior High served the town's Black students until integration in 1965.

1960–2020 — The long slide

The coal work thinned out and the people followed it: 3,006 in 1960, around 2,000 in 1970, 417 in 1990, 788 in 2000, and 690 in the 2020 census. The theaters went dark. The town did not.

2001–2002 — The floods

War flooded in July 2001 and again in May 2002 — the 2002 flood among the worst in McDowell County memory. Folks mucked out, rebuilt, and stayed.

Today — Still here

Churches are especially prominent in War — well over a dozen for a town of its size. The War Hotel and the War Arcade still stand on Main Street. Route 16 still runs the old War Path. And 690 people still call the only town named War home.