Egeria, West Virginia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Egeria, West Virginia
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 Egeria, West Virginia
Location in West Virginia
Egeria, West Virginia
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | West Virginia |
| Counties | Mercer and Raleigh |
| Elevation | 2,972 ft (906 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| Area code(s) | 304 & 681 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1549668 |
Egeria is a small, quiet place in West Virginia, United States. It's known as an unincorporated community. This means it doesn't have its own local government, like a mayor or a city council, as a town or city would. Instead, it's managed by the larger county governments. Egeria is located across two different counties: Mercer and Raleigh. It's about 8.5 miles (13.7 km) north-northeast of a place called Matoaka.
Life in Early Egeria
Back in 1881, a special guide for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway listed some of the businesses and people living in Egeria. It shows that the community had many important services. There was a blacksmith, who made and repaired metal items. There were also two cabinetmakers, who sometimes worked as undertakers. A general store provided everyday goods for everyone. The community also had a machinist, who worked with machines. For food, there was a corn or flour mill, and a sawmill helped with wood. The guide also mentioned nine "principal farmers," showing that farming was a big part of life there.
Egeria's Post Office
For many years, Egeria had its own post office. This was a very important place for the community. It allowed people to send and receive letters and packages. Having a post office meant Egeria was connected to the rest of the world. The post office was still open and serving the community as of 1955.
The Smallest High School
One of the most interesting facts about Egeria is its high school. The Egeria high school was built in 1913. It holds a special place in West Virginia's history. This school was the very last single-teacher high school in the entire state. This means one teacher taught all the different subjects to all the high school students.
At its busiest, the school had 21 students in total. But usually, the number of students was much smaller, often in the teens. This made it the smallest school in the county. For example, in 1954, only two students graduated from Egeria high school. At that time, the community faced challenges because the roads connecting it to nearby towns were not very good. These poor roads made it harder for the community to grow and develop. Because of this, many younger residents decided to move away to other places.
