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) is a city in Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 2,951 at the 2000 census. Although the Census Bureau listed it as a town in 2000, it is classified (along with all other municipalities with populations between two and ten thousand) as a city by state law.
The Charles Town Mining, Manufacturing, and Improvement Company played an instrumental role in creating this new town. In 1890, the company bought 850 acres (3.4 km²) adjoining the western and northern corporate limits of Charles Town and commissioned D.G. Howell, a civil engineer and architect, to lay out the town. The largest tract of land purchased was from the Ransom family. The Corporation of Ranson in Jefferson County, West Virginia, was officially incorporated in 1910. It was named in honor of Dr. James Ranson, a dentist and farmer living in the area. The 2006 Census estimate claims Ranson's population is 3,957, up just over 1,000 people since 2000.
The early growth and development of Ranson reflects the late 19th century boom of the Shenandoah Valley and surrounding areas associated with the rise of the railroads, mining, and manufacturing. Some of the companies that located in Ranson early on included the Hotel Powhatan, the Goetz Saddlery, the Shenandoah Brass and Iron Works, the Elemer E. Beachley Saw and Planing Mill, the John Farrin Boiler and Machine Shop, and the Vulcan Road Machine Company. In 1936, the town of Ranson purchased the building that formerly housed the Charles Town Mining, Manufacturing, and Improvement Company and set up the town offices within it. Today, Ranson is a thriving community that blends a developing commercial district housing major corporations with rapidly growing residential neighborhoods.