Flatwoods

History

Although first incorporated in 1902, maps show the existence of Flatwoods as a town in 1873, and a church was established by a pastor named John Clark at the community there as early as 1830. The West Virginia and Pittsburgh Railroad extended a branch through Flatwoods in the late 1800s. Later, the line was taken over by Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and Flatwoods was a halfway point on the B&O Railroad's Clarksburg-Richwood branch, approximately 62.6 miles from the Clarksburg terminal, and 59.1 miles from the Richwood terminal. The town also served as the origin of West Virginia & Pittsburgh Railroad's Sutton Branch. The community became nationally known for the Flatwoods monster UFO incident which occurred on September 12, 1952.

Geography

Flatwoods is located at (38.7231, -80.6508). According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all land.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  329
• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  271
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  226
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  219
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  207
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  204
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  201
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  169

Most recent

• M 2.8 — 2025-02-03
  0 km NE of Reno, Ohio
• M 2.61 — 2019-03-04
  13 km E of Meadow Bridge, West Virginia
• M 2.7 — 2017-06-21
  1 km SW of Pratt, West Virginia
• M 2.51 — 2016-12-01
  12 km WSW of Spencer, West Virginia
• M 2.6 — 2014-06-06
  13 km NNE of Sissonville, West Virginia
• M 2.6 — 2013-08-16
  13 km SW of Glenville, West Virginia