Darkesville is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in Berkeley County,

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...

, United States. Established in 1791, Darkesville has been nationally recognized as a historic district.Wood, Don C.
National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Darkesville Historic District
'.

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational properti ...

, c. 1980. A

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional se ...

and school (now closed) once operated in Darkesville.

Geography

Darkesville lies between Inwood and Martinsburg along U.S. Route 11.DeLorme. ''West Virginia Atlas & Gazetteer''. 4th ed. Yarmouth:

DeLorme DeLorme is the producer of personal satellite tracking, messaging, and navigation technology. The company’s main product, ''inReach'', integrates GPS and satellite technologies. ''inReach'' provides the ability to send and receive text message ...

, 2007, 30. . The community's elevation is 531 feet (162 m), and it is located at about (39.3738500, -78.0248602). Middle Creek flows through the center of Darkesville.

Name

Established by an act of the Virginia General Assembly on December 7, 1791, on the property of James Buckells, Darkesville is named for William Darke, a Virginia military officer who had his headquarters in the community. Historically, Darkesville has been known by various names and a wide variety of spellings. An 1895 atlas showed the community as "Buckletown", and later variants included "Buckellstown", "Buckels Town", "Buckelstown", "Buckle Town" and "Bucklestown", all referring to the entrepreneurial James Buckles (1732-1796) who contributed land and laid out the town in 1790.Don C. Wood, ''Berkeley Journal'' 34:15, Berkeley County Historical Society, Martinsburg, WV, 1980 "James Town" and "Locke" have also been applied to the community. Its current name has also been spelled "Darkes" and "Darkville".

Historic district

In 1980, the community was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

as a

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from cer ...

. Darkesville was recognized for its historic architecture, which includes approximately twenty-five buildings constructed as

log cabin A log cabin is a small log house, especially a less finished or less architecturally sophisticated structure. Log cabins have an ancient history in Europe, and in America are often associated with first generation home building by settlers. Eur ...

s in 1810 or earlier.

External sources

"Darkesville: A Name Born of Tragedy,"
8thVirginia.com (Gabriel Neville)

References

{{authority control Populated places established in 1791 Unincorporated communities in Berkeley County, West Virginia Unincorporated communities in West Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Berkeley County, West Virginia Federal architecture in West Virginia Greek Revival architecture in West Virginia Gothic Revival architecture in West Virginia Historic districts in Berkeley County, West Virginia Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia Houses in Berkeley County, West Virginia Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia