CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
EN/FR
Search
Menu
Research dossier · Places & Architecture

Rainelle, West Virginia

Town in West Virginia, United States

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 25, 2026
Entity authoritySource title only
Source-derived summary

Rainelle is a town on the western edge of Greenbrier County, West Virginia, United States. It sits at the base of Sewell Mountain and Sims Mountain, and is bisected by the Meadow River. The only means of transportation to and from Rainelle are roads; primarily US 60 and WV 20, which merge on the western end of the town, and the James River and Kanawha Turnpike, which enters from the south. The population was 1,190 at the 2020 census.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Rainelle, West Virginia” as town in West Virginia, United States. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Rainelle, West and Virginia.

Editorial reviewMost useful as a place-based finding aid connecting the present description to earlier jurisdictions, maps and built evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2020—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Rainelle, West and Virginia providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Rainelle, West Virginia”, the useful work is to connect “town in West Virginia, United States” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 25, 2026. The first chronological checks are 2020.

Critical limits

A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Rainelle, West Virginia”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Rainelle, West Virginia primary sources, Rainelle, West Virginia archive and Rainelle research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Rainelle, West Virginia”?
  2. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
  3. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Rainelle, West Virginia” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.