Wayfarrow

Whetsell

Ghost town · Preston County, West Virginia

Kingwood quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1907, 1:62,500)
Kingwood quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1907, 1:62,500) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Whetsell is a ghost town in Preston County, West Virginia. It is one of 13 former communities in Preston County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 7th among the 53 West Virginia counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Whetsell as a historical populated place on the Kingwood 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 39.4401° N, 79.6517° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleKingwood
Elevation1,411 ft
Nearest living townKingwood, WV
Distance to it2.7 miles
GNIS feature ID1558712
Coordinates39.44009, -79.65172

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Whetsell is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Kingwood, WV (population 2,980), about 2.7 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 1,411 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Whetsell?

Whetsell is in Preston County, West Virginia, at 39.4401, -79.6517.

How many ghost towns are in Preston County?

Preston County, West Virginia has 13 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.