Exchange, West Virginia

Unincorporated community in West Virginia, United States

38°46′8″N 80°44′33″W / 38.76889°N 80.74250°W / 38.76889; -80.74250CountryUnited StatesStateWest VirginiaCounty BraxtonTime zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)ZIP codes

26619

GNIS feature ID1538778^[1]

Exchange is an unincorporated community and ghost town in Braxton County, West Virginia, United States that has the ZIP code of 26619. The town was a stopping point on the former Coal and Coke Railway.^[2]

As of 2019, the outlying areas surrounding Exchange are still populated, but the main street through town is blocked. On August 25, 2023, a fire started in one of the buildings and spread to both sides, resulting in the destruction of the main structures and smaller storage buildings.

Toponymy

An early variant name was Millburn. The present name was suggested on account of ownership of the local mill and other enterprises frequently changing hands.^[3]

Exchange in the early 1900s.
Arnold Lane, the main street through Exchange.

References

^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Exchange, West Virginia
^ "B&O Charleston Division Part I -Charleston to Queen Shoals". WVNC Rails. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
^ Kenny, Hamill (1945). West Virginia Place Names: Their Origin and Meaning, Including the Nomenclature of the Streams and Mountains. Piedmont, WV: The Place Name Press. p. 235.