List of counties in West Virginia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Counties of West Virginia |
|
---|---|
Location | State of West Virginia |
Number | 55 |
Populations | 5,000 (Wirt) – 174,805 (Kanawha) |
Areas | 83 square miles (210 km2) (Hancock) – 1,040 square miles (2,700 km2) (Randolph) |
Government | County government |
Subdivisions | cities, towns, unincorporated communities, census designated place |
The U.S. state of West Virginia has 55 counties. Fifty of them existed at the time of the Wheeling Convention in 1861, during the American Civil War, when those counties seceded from the Commonwealth of Virginia to form the new state of West Virginia. West Virginia was admitted as a separate state of the United States on June 20, 1863. Five additional counties (Grant, Mineral, Lincoln, Summers, and Mingo) were formed from the original counties in the decades following admission.
After the Civil War, Berkeley County and Jefferson County, the two easternmost counties of West Virginia, refused to recognize their inclusion in the state, and the Virginia General Assembly passed legislation attempting to reclaim them. In March 1866, the United States Congress passed a joint mandate assenting to their inclusion in the new state, and the Supreme Court of the United States confirmed this outcome in the case of Virginia v. West Virginia (1871).
The West Virginia Constitution was ratified in 1872, replacing the state constitution created in 1863 when West Virginia became a state. Article 9, Section 8, of the West Virginia Constitution permits the creation of additional counties if a majority of citizens in the proposed new county vote for its creation and the new county has a minimum area of 400 square miles (1,036 km2) and a population of at least 6,000. Creation of a new county is prohibited if it would bring another county below these thresholds. Three counties (Greenbrier, Kanawha, and Randolph) have sufficient population (based on the 2020 United States Census) and land area to allow a new county to be split off. The remaining counties cannot be split, as either their land area would decrease to under 400 square miles, or their population would decrease to below 6,000.
The role of counties in local government had been minimized under the 1863 constitution, which vested most local government authority in a system of townships based on the New England model. The authors of the 1872 constitution chose to return to the system used in Virginia, in which each county was governed by a county court with combined authority for executive, legislative, and judicial functions of the county government. In 1880, West Virginia amended its constitution and replaced the county court system with an arrangement that divides county government powers between seven county offices, each of which is independently elected: the county commission, county clerk, circuit clerk, county sheriff, county assessor, county prosecuting attorney, and county surveyor of lands. Counties have only those powers that are expressly granted to them by the state Constitution or by state statute. These powers include, but are not limited to, maintaining the infrastructure of the state, funding libraries, maintaining jails and hospitals, and waste disposal. Reforming public education became a county function in 1933. In May 1933, a county unit plan was adopted. Under this plan, the state's 398 school districts were consolidated into the current 55 county school systems. This enabled public schools to be funded more economically and saved West Virginia millions of dollars.
Randolph County is the largest by area at 1,040 square miles (2,694 km2), and Hancock County is the smallest at 83 square miles (215 km2). Kanawha County contributed land to the founding of 12 West Virginia counties and has the largest population (174,805 in 2023). Wirt County has the smallest population (5,000 in 2023). The oldest county is Hampshire, established in 1754, and the newest is Mingo, established in 1895. Spruce Knob, located in Pendleton County, is the state's highest point at 4,863 feet (1,482 m). Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) codes, which are used by the United States government to identify counties uniquely, are five-digit numbers. For West Virginia, they start with 54 and end with the three-digit county code (for example, Barbour County has FIPS code 54001). Each county's code is provided in the table below, linked to census data for that county.
Counties
County |
FIPS code | County seat | Est. | Origin | Etymology | Population | Area | Map |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Barbour County | 001 | Philippi | 1843 | Harrison, Lewis, and Randolph counties | Philip P. Barbour (1783–1841) United States Speaker of the House (1821–23) |
15,378 | ( 883 km2) |
341 sq mi|
Berkeley County | 003 | Martinsburg | 1772 | Frederick County (Virginia) | Norborne Berkeley (1717–70) Royal Governor of Virginia (1768–70) |
132,440 | ( 831 km2) |
321 sq mi|
Boone County | 005 | Madison | 1847 | Cabell, Kanawha, and Logan counties | Daniel Boone (1734–1820) American frontiersman |
20,576 | ( 1,303 km2) |
503 sq mi|
Braxton County | 007 | Sutton | 1836 | Kanawha, Lewis, and Nicholas counties | Carter Braxton (1736–97) Signer of the Declaration of Independence |
12,162 | ( 1,331 km2) |
514 sq mi|
Brooke County | 009 | Wellsburg | 1796 | Ohio County | Robert Brooke (1761–1800) Governor of Virginia (1794–96) |
21,373 | ( 231 km2) |
89 sq mi|
Cabell County | 011 | Huntington | 1809 | Kanawha County | William H. Cabell (1772–1853) Governor of Virginia (1805–08) |
92,082 | ( 730 km2) |
282 sq mi|
Calhoun County | 013 | Grantsville | 1856 | Gilmer County | John C. Calhoun (1782–1850) United States Vice President (1825–32) |
5,959 | ( 728 km2) |
281 sq mi|
Clay County | 015 | Clay | 1858 | Braxton and Nicholas counties | Henry Clay (1777–1852) United States Senator Kentucky (1823–25) United States Speaker of the House (1849–52) |
7,783 | ( 886 km2) |
342 sq mi|
Doddridge County | 017 | West Union | 1845 | Harrison, Lewis, Ritchie, and Tyler counties | Philip Doddridge (1773–1832) United States Congressman (Virginia) (1829–32) |
7,680 | ( 829 km2) |
320 sq mi|
Fayette County | 019 | Fayetteville | 1831 | Kanawha, Greenbrier, Logan, and Nicholas counties | Marquis de Lafayette (1757–1834) French-born American Revolutionary War General |
39,072 | ( 1,720 km2) |
664 sq mi|
Gilmer County | 021 | Glenville | 1845 | Kanawha and Lewis counties | Thomas Walker Gilmer (1802–44) United States Secretary of the Navy (1844) Governor of Virginia (1840–41) |
7,254 | ( 881 km2) |
340 sq mi|
Grant County | 023 | Petersburg | 1866 | Hardy County | Ulysses S. Grant (1822–85) United States President (1869–77) |
10,921 | ( 1,235 km2) |
477 sq mi|
Greenbrier County | 025 | Lewisburg | 1778 | Montgomery County (Virginia) and Botetourt County (Virginia) | Greenbrier River | 32,149 | ( 2,644 km2) |
1,021 sq mi|
Hampshire County | 027 | Romney | 1754 | Augusta County (Virginia) and Frederick County (Virginia) | County of Hampshire in England | 23,649 | ( 1,663 km2) |
642 sq mi|
Hancock County | 029 | New Cumberland | 1848 | Brooke County | John Hancock (1737–93) One of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence Governor of Massachusetts (1780–85) and (1787–93) |
28,145 | ( 215 km2) |
83 sq mi|
Hardy County | 031 | Moorefield | 1786 | Hampshire County | Samuel Hardy (1758–85) Virginia delegate to the Continental Congress (1783–85) |
14,251 | ( 1,510 km2) |
583 sq mi|
Harrison County | 033 | Clarksburg | 1784 | Monongalia County | Benjamin Harrison V (1726–91) Governor of Virginia (1781–84) |
64,639 | ( 1,077 km2) |
416 sq mi|
Jackson County | 035 | Ripley | 1831 | Kanawha, Mason, and Wood counties | Andrew Jackson (1767–1845) United States President (1829–37) |
27,593 | ( 1,207 km2) |
466 sq mi|
Jefferson County | 037 | Charles Town | 1801 | Berkeley County | Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) United States President (1801–09) |
59,787 | ( 544 km2) |
210 sq mi|
Kanawha County | 039 | Charleston | 1789 | Greenbrier and Montgomery County (Virginia) | Kanawha River | 174,805 | ( 2,339 km2) |
903 sq mi|
Lewis County | 041 | Weston | 1816 | Harrison County | Charles Lewis (1736–74) American Colonel killed at the Battle of Point Pleasant |
16,500 | ( 1,008 km2) |
389 sq mi|
Lincoln County | 043 | Hamlin | 1867 | Boone, Cabell, Kanawha, and Putnam counties | Abraham Lincoln (1809–65) United States President (1861–65) |
19,701 | ( 1,134 km2) |
438 sq mi|
Logan County | 045 | Logan | 1824 | Cabell and Kanawha counties, Giles County (Virginia), and Tazewell County (Virginia) | Chief Logan (c. 1723-80) Mingo leader |
30,827 | ( 1,176 km2) |
454 sq mi|
Marion County | 049 | Fairmont | 1842 | Harrison and Monongalia counties | Francis Marion (1732–95) American Revolutionary War General (1757–82) |
55,807 | ( 803 km2) |
310 sq mi|
Marshall County | 051 | Moundsville | 1835 | Ohio County | John Marshall (1755–1835) United States Secretary of State (1800–01) Chief Justice of the United States (1801–35) |
29,405 | ( 795 km2) |
307 sq mi|
Mason County | 053 | Point Pleasant | 1804 | Kanawha County | George Mason (1725–92) United States Constitutional Convention "Father of the Bill of Rights" |
24,765 | ( 1,119 km2) |
432 sq mi|
McDowell County | 047 | Welch | 1858 | Tazewell County (Virginia) | James McDowell (1795–1851) Governor of Virginia (1843–46) |
17,439 | ( 1,386 km2) |
535 sq mi|
Mercer County | 055 | Princeton | 1837 | Giles County (Virginia) and Tazewell County (Virginia) | Hugh Mercer (1726–77) American Revolutionary War General (1775–76) |
58,057 | ( 1,088 km2) |
420 sq mi|
Mineral County | 057 | Keyser | 1866 | Hampshire County | abundant mineral resources | 26,867 | ( 850 km2) |
328 sq mi|
Mingo County | 059 | Williamson | 1895 | Logan County | Mingo Native Americans | 22,023 | ( 1,096 km2) |
423 sq mi|
Monongalia County | 061 | Morgantown | 1776 | Augusta County (Virginia) | Latin derivation for Monongahela River | 107,718 | ( 935 km2) |
361 sq mi|
Monroe County | 063 | Union | 1799 | Greenbrier County | James Monroe (1758–1831) United States Senator (Virginia) (1790–94) Governor of Virginia (1799–1802) and (1811) United States President (1817–25) |
12,382 | ( 1,225 km2) |
473 sq mi|
Morgan County | 065 | Berkeley Springs | 1820 | Berkeley and Hampshire counties | Daniel Morgan (1736–1802) United States Congressman (Virginia) (1797–99) |
17,649 | ( 593 km2) |
229 sq mi|
Nicholas County | 067 | Summersville | 1818 | Greenbrier, Kanawha, and Randolph counties | Wilson Cary Nicholas (1761–1820) United States Senator (Virginia) (1799–1804) Governor of Virginia (1814–16) |
24,169 | ( 1,681 km2) |
649 sq mi|
Ohio County | 069 | Wheeling | 1776 | Augusta County (Virginia) | Ohio River | 41,194 | ( 275 km2) |
106 sq mi|
Pendleton County | 071 | Franklin | 1788 | Augusta County (Virginia), Rockingham County (Virginia), and Hardy | Edmund Pendleton (1721–1803) First Continental Congress (1774) |
6,029 | ( 1,808 km2) |
698 sq mi|
Pleasants County | 073 | Saint Marys | 1851 | Ritchie, Tyler, and Wood counties | James Pleasants, Jr. (1769–1836) United States Senator (Virginia) (1819–22) Governor of Virginia (1822–25) |
7,428 | ( 339 km2) |
131 sq mi|
Pocahontas County | 075 | Marlinton | 1821 | Bath County (Virginia), Pendleton, and Randolph | Pocahontas (c. 1595–1617) Powhatan Native American slave of early English settlers |
7,765 | ( 2,435 km2) |
940 sq mi|
Preston County | 077 | Kingwood | 1818 | Monongalia County | James Patton Preston (1774–1843) Governor of Virginia (1816–19) |
34,099 | ( 1,678 km2) |
648 sq mi|
Putnam County | 079 | Winfield | 1848 | Cabell, Kanawha, and Mason counties | Israel Putnam (1718–90) American Revolutionary War General |
56,962 | ( 896 km2) |
346 sq mi|
Raleigh County | 081 | Beckley | 1850 | Fayette County | Sir Walter Raleigh (1554–1618) English explorer and poet |
72,356 | ( 1,572 km2) |
607 sq mi|
Randolph County | 083 | Elkins | 1787 | Harrison County | Edmund Jennings Randolph (1753–1813) Governor of Virginia (1786–88) First United States Attorney General (1789–94) |
27,350 | ( 2,694 km2) |
1,040 sq mi|
Ritchie County | 085 | Harrisville | 1843 | Harrison, Lewis, and Wood counties | Thomas Ritchie (1778–1854) nationally influential Virginia newspaper publisher |
8,167 | ( 1,176 km2) |
454 sq mi|
Roane County | 087 | Spencer | 1856 | Gilmer, Jackson, and Kanawha counties | Spencer Roane (1762–1822) Virginia Supreme Court Justice (1794–1822) |
13,743 | ( 1,254 km2) |
484 sq mi|
Summers County | 089 | Hinton | 1871 | Fayette, Greenbrier, Mercer, and Monroe counties | George W. Summers (1804–68) United States Congressman (Virginia) (1843) |
11,581 | ( 935 km2) |
361 sq mi|
Taylor County | 091 | Grafton | 1844 | Barbour, Harrison, Marion counties | John Taylor of Caroline (1753–1824) United States Senator (Virginia) (1792–94) and (1803) and (1822–24) |
16,388 | ( 448 km2) |
173 sq mi|
Tucker County | 093 | Parsons | 1856 | Randolph County | Henry St. George Tucker (1780–1848) United States Congressman (Virginia) (1815–19) Virginia Supreme Court (1831–41) |
6,604 | ( 1,085 km2) |
419 sq mi|
Tyler County | 095 | Middlebourne | 1814 | Ohio County | John Tyler, Sr. (1747–1813) Governor of Virginia (1808–11) |
7,919 | ( 668 km2) |
258 sq mi|
Upshur County | 097 | Buckhannon | 1851 | Barbour, Lewis, and Randolph counties | Abel Parker Upshur (1790–1844) United States Secretary of the Navy (1841–43) United States Secretary of State (1843–44) |
23,529 | ( 919 km2) |
355 sq mi|
Wayne County | 099 | Wayne | 1842 | Cabell County | "Mad" Anthony Wayne Major General (1745–96) American Revolutionary War (1775–83) and (1792–96) United States Congressman Georgia (1791) |
37,686 | ( 1,311 km2) |
506 sq mi|
Webster County | 101 | Webster Springs | 1860 | Braxton, Nicholas, and Randolph counties | Daniel Webster (1782–1852) United States Senator Massachusetts (1827–41) and (1845–50) United States Secretary of State (1841–53) and (1850–52) |
8,045 | ( 1,440 km2) |
556 sq mi|
Wetzel County | 103 | New Martinsville | 1846 | Tyler County | Lewis Wetzel (1763–1808) noted frontiersman |
13,890 | ( 930 km2) |
359 sq mi|
Wirt County | 105 | Elizabeth | 1848 | Jackson and Wood counties | William Wirt (1772–1834) United States Attorney General (1817–29) |
5,000 | ( 603 km2) |
233 sq mi|
Wood County | 107 | Parkersburg | 1798 | Harrison County | James Wood (1741–1813) Governor of Virginia (1796–99) |
83,052 | ( 951 km2) |
367 sq mi|
Wyoming County | 109 | Pineville | 1850 | Logan County | derived from Lenape Native American term for "wide plain" | 20,277 | ( 1,298 km2) |
501 sq mi
See also
In Spanish: Anexo:Condados de Virginia Occidental para niños
- List of governors of West Virginia
- List of National Historic Landmarks in West Virginia
- List of West Virginia counties by socioeconomic factors