Mountain, West Virginia

Unincorporated community in West Virginia, United States

39°21′43″N 80°54′37″W / 39.36194°N 80.91028°W / 39.36194; -80.91028CountryUnited StatesStateWest VirginiaCounty RitchieElevation

860 ft (260 m)Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)Area code(s)304 & 681GNIS feature ID1543852^[1]

Mountain is an unincorporated community in Ritchie County, West Virginia, United States. Mountain is located in extreme northeastern Ritchie County along West Virginia Route 74 and the Hughes River, 6.2 miles (10.0 km) north-northeast of Pennsboro.^[2] The community was known as Mole Hill prior to 1949, when residents requested that the name be changed to Mountain^[1] as part of a publicity stunt to literally make a mountain out of a molehill. Despite the name, there is no mountain in or even visible from the community.^[3] The post office ultimately closed on November 9, 2002.^[4]

The community most likely was named after the local Mole family.^[5]

References

^ ^a ^b "Mountain". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
^ Ritchie County, West Virginia General Highway Map (PDF) (Map). West Virginia Department of Transportation. 2011. p. 1. Retrieved March 6, 2012.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ "Turning a Mole Hill Into a Mountain". www.wvculture.org. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
^ "Postmaster Finder - Post Offices by ZIP Code". United States Postal Service. Retrieved March 6, 2012.
^ 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. 424.