Smithers, WV

Smithers is a city in Fayette and Kanawha counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The 2020 census counted 751 residents. Located along the Kanawha River, it lies almost entirely in Fayette County. The city most likely takes its name from Smithers Creek. Smithers had a combined middle school and high school, Valley High School, serving grades 6–12. The school closed at the end of the 2018–19 school year. A newcomer can read Smithers through the overlap of its older landmarks, surrounding geography, and current places. For a newcomer, Smithers comes into focus through those concrete links among its past, landscape, and current routines. Smithers was incorporated in 1938. The city was named for James Smithers, an early settler who resided at the mouth of Smithers Creek. Smithers is located along the Kanawha River.