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Oswald

Ghost town · Raleigh County, West Virginia

Beckley quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1913, 1:62,500)
Beckley quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1913, 1:62,500) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Oswald is a ghost town in Raleigh County, West Virginia. It is one of 18 former communities in Raleigh County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 3rd among the 53 West Virginia counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Oswald as a historical populated place on the Beckley topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 37.8604° N, 81.1723° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleBeckley
Elevation1,914 ft
Nearest living townProsperity, WV
Distance to it2 miles
GNIS feature ID1742885
Coordinates37.86039, -81.17232

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Oswald is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Prosperity, WV (population 1,575), about 2 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 1,914 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Oswald?

Oswald is in Raleigh County, West Virginia, at 37.8604, -81.1723.

How many ghost towns are in Raleigh County?

Raleigh County, West Virginia has 18 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.