 Beaver first acquired its name around 1860 “from the great numbers of beavers abounding in the creeks during the early days of settlement”, according to "A History of Shady Spring District" (1979) compiled by the Shady Spring District Woman's Club.When the community became eligible for a post office in the early 1900s, the residents discovered another West Virginia town already had the name.The town adopted the name “Oxley”, after a Huntington man who ran a clothing store there.