Lewisburg City Hall is located at 942 Washington Street, West Lewisburg, WV 24901. Phone: 304-645-2080
Neighborhoods
Lewisburg, West Virginia, is portrayed as a historically rich but once-remote county seat that reinvented itself as a regional cultural and tourism hub, ultimately being voted the “coolest small town in America” by Budget Travel readers in 2011.
Recognition and setting
Lewisburg won a national reader poll by Budget Travel in 2011, beating Astoria, Oregon, in a close contest that drew nearly half a million votes, giving the town wide visibility as the “coolest small town.” The article emphasizes that this recognition is striking because Lewisburg sits in a secluded part of the West Virginia mountains, in a rural region where national attention had historically been hard to attain.
Historical foundations
The town began as a frontier outpost in territory scouted by Andrew Lewis, a colonial Virginia military officer and surveyor, to secure British presence at the edge of Indian-controlled lands and to provide affordable land for small farmers and adventurous homesteaders. This early role made Lewisburg one of the key footholds in what later became West Virginia, and it went on to play important roles in both the Civil War and the region’s subsequent industrial development centered nearby in Ronceverte.
Notable visitors and regional importance
Lewisburg’s area attracted prominent figures, with George Washington and Thomas Jefferson known to have visited, and John F. Kennedy later staying at the farm of his friend Dr. Ward Wylie near Lewisburg while planning his election strategy. The article links Kennedy’s visit and friendship with Wylie to the strong interest he took in West Virginia as president, illustrating how this rural region intersected with national politics.
Geography, remoteness, and access
Despite being the county seat of one of West Virginia’s largest counties and having rail access at nearby Ronceverte, Interstate 64 just to the north, and an airport with the state’s longest runway, Lewisburg long remained relatively remote. The surrounding Greenbrier and Monroe counties are very rural and mountainous, and the rugged terrain helped keep the area secluded even as transportation infrastructure improved.
Tourism, resorts, and local evolution
The broader region historically drew visitors to mineral-spring resorts like Sweet Springs, Sweet Chalybeate, and Blue Sulphur Springs, and later to the high-profile Greenbrier Resort at White Sulphur Springs. However, these resorts centered on “taking the waters,” golf, and quiet relaxation and never produced the dense resort-town culture seen in Western ski towns; White Sulphur Springs itself remains modestly developed and “wanting for more businesses,” while Lewisburg more actively positioned itself as the place where Greenbrier visitors could experience the wider region.
Relationship with Ronceverte and Fairlea
Lewisburg’s development is closely tied to neighboring Ronceverte and Fairlea, which together form an interconnected local economy. Ronceverte emerged after the Civil War as the industrial center thanks to the railroad and river access, but it declined as industrial activity consolidated into larger supra-regional facilities, while Fairlea grew around the state fairgrounds, car dealerships, and a mall without ever forming a traditional walkable downtown core as Lewisburg did.
†Adapted from: www.greenbrierwv.com. How Lewisburg Became the Coolest Town, July, 2015, accessed December, 2025.