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Sterling

Ghost town · Boone County, West Virginia

Peytona quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1911, 1:62,500)
Peytona quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1911, 1:62,500) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Sterling is a ghost town in Boone County, West Virginia. It is one of 2 former communities in Boone County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 40th among the 53 West Virginia counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Sterling as a historical populated place on the Williams Mountain 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 38.1176° N, 81.6571° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleWilliams Mountain
Elevation764 ft
Nearest living townRacine, WV
Distance to it1.5 miles
GNIS feature ID1741808
Coordinates38.11760, -81.65706

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Sterling is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Racine, WV (population 451), about 1.5 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 764 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Sterling?

Sterling is in Boone County, West Virginia, at 38.1176, -81.6571.

How many ghost towns are in Boone County?

Boone County, West Virginia has 2 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.