Hinton is a city in Summers County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 2,880 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Summers County. Hinton, was established in 1873 and chartered in 1897. Hinton was named for John "Jack" Hinton, a prominent lawyer of Summers County and husband of Avis Gwinn Hinton, who owned the land upon which the city of Hinton is located. Hinton's complete downtown was placed on the National Registry of Historic Places in 1984. There are several museums in Hinton, including the Veterans Memorial Museum, Wood’s Clock Museum, the Hinton Railroad Museum, and King's Civil War Museum.