#38 of 55 WV counties · 13 structures

Cell towers in McDowell County, WV

The FCC registry lists 13 constructed antenna structures in McDowell County, 1% of West Virginia's 1,491. Ownership is spread across 9 registrants; the largest, West Virginia Emergency Management Division, has 3 (23%). The three big tower companies — American Tower, Crown Castle and SBA — hold 3 between them.

Value a buyout offer

1Constructed structures 13
2Tallest 495 ft
3Largest owner West Virginia Emergency Management Division
4Median height (state 257 ft) 304 ft

Structures

rank 38 of 55 in WV

Most common type

Tower

46% of structures

Over 200 feet

85% of structures

Peak build decade

2000s

31% built then

Who owns the towers in McDowell County

9 different registrants own the 13 structures. Owner names are the registrant's legal entity as filed with the FCC; the large tower companies file under many subsidiary names, which this site groups into families where the brand is in the name or listed in the company's SEC filings.

Constructed structures in McDowell County by owner group, bars to scale. Source: FCC ASR, October 2026.

Height and age

The median structure here stands 304 feet, 47 feet taller than the West Virginia median — a sign of broadcast and rural coverage towers rather than short suburban sites. The tallest is a tower near Welch at 495 feet, built in 2012. More than in any other decade, 31% were built in the 2000s.

Structures in McDowell County by type, bars to scale. Source: FCC ASR.

Structures in McDowell County by decade built, columns to scale. Source: FCC ASR.

Every registered structure

Sorted tallest first. The registration number opens the FCC record, which shows the exact location and the owner's contact for the structure. A tower on your land that is not in this list is probably under 200 feet and away from airports, so it did not need registering — see why some towers aren't listed.

FCC reg.	Type	Height	Built	City	Owner
1282651	Tower	495 ft	2012	Welch	West Virginia Emergency Management Division
1035182	Tower	448 ft	1992	Kimball	CCATT LLC
1307482	Lattice tower	350 ft	2020	Welch	Appalachian Power Company
1275057	Monopole	309 ft	2010	Welch	American Towers LLC
1306862	Lattice tower	309 ft	2018	Northfork	VB-S1 Assets, LLC
1310389	Lattice tower	305 ft	2019	Iaeger	TowerNorth Development, LLC
1310696	Lattice tower	304 ft	2020	Elkhorn	TowerNorth Development, LLC
1253516	Tower	300 ft	2007	Panther	Appalachian Power Company
1260619	Guyed tower	300 ft	2008	Bartley	West Virginia Emergency Management Division
1200717	Tower	289 ft	1999	Welch	West Virginia Emergency Management Division
1034082	Tower	226 ft	1989	Welch	WEST VIRGINIA-VIRGINIA MEDIA, LLC
1255482	Tower	199 ft	2007	Welch	SBA Towers IX, LLC
1033616	Other or unspecified	190 ft	2000	Gary	LLoyd Hoff Holding Corp.

If you have a tower lease in McDowell County

Find your structure above, open its FCC record and confirm the owner — that is the company your lease runs to today, even if a different carrier signed it originally. Before answering a buyout offer, put your current rent, escalator and remaining term into the calculator to see what the rent is worth and what return the offer assumes.

Counties in West Virginia with similar tower counts: Hancock County (14), Brooke County (13), Doddridge County (13), Morgan County (13), Tyler County (13).

Source: FCC Antenna Structure Registration, weekly public access file (r_tower.zip, created 2026-10-18); constructed registrations only; locations rounded. Checked 2026-10-23. Methodology.