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Pineville, the county seat of Wyoming County, is located on Rockcastle Creek where it enters the Guyandotte River. The town lies at an elevation of 1,323 feet, at the intersection of State Routes 16, 10, and 97. The 2010 population of Pineville was 668.

Castle Rock, the towering sandstone formation for which Rockcastle Creek is named, is located at Pineville and is the major local landmark. The community was previously called Castlerock, and the post office there was once named Rock Castle. The town was renamed Pineville for the local pine forest and incorporated under that name in 1907.

That area of present Wyoming County was first settled about 1800, and by 1850 there was sufficient population to organize Wyoming from part of Logan County. Hiram Clay first settled near the site of present Pineville, in 1863. Pineville became county seat in 1907, replacing Oceana after a series of disputed elections. The Wyoming County Courthouse, renovated in recent years by the county commission, was built in the Neoclassical Revival style in 1916 of locally quarried stone. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. A statue of preacher W. H. H. Cook, an early settler of the area and influential citizen, stands in front of the courthouse.

Pineville grew steadily during most of the 20th century, reaching a peak population of 1,187 in 1970. It was a regional business hub for the thriving coal and timber industries. As employment in those industries declined, so did Pineville’s population. Its population in 2020 was 648, a 43.2 percent decrease from 1980.

Judge R. D. Bailey (1883–1961), politician Darrell McGraw, and football player Curt Warner were Pineville residents.

Last Revised on February 22, 2023

Cite This Article

e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia "Pineville." e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia. 22 February 2023. Web. 30 November 2024.