|
|
Barbour County is located in the north-central part of the state upon the Appalachian plateau. The land is hilly to mountainous and is drained by the Tygart, Buckhannon and Middle Fork rivers.
The first settlements within what is now Barbour County were made as early as 1780 near present-day Philippi. In 1843, Barbour County was formed from parts of Randolph, Lewis and Harrison counties. It was named for Phillip Pendleton Barbour (1783-1841), a distinguished Virginia jurist. By 1850 it had a population of 9,005.
What is generally regarded as the first land battle of the Civil War took place in Barbour County. The relatively minor skirmish occured on June 3, 1861, when Federal troops under General B.F. Kelley defeated Confederate forces under Colonel George A. Porterfield.
Spanning the Tygart River at Philippi is the old covered bridge, one of West Virginia's historic landmarks. Designed by Lemuel Chenoweth, it was built in 1852. The bridge has been strengthened to permit modern traffic loads to pass through it.
Barbour County has always been predominately an agricultural and grazing county, with most of its farms located along the river valleys. Livestock, fruit and poultry are some of the agricultural products of the county. The county's coal, lumber, gas and oil reserves began to be exploited soon after the completion of the rail transportation system in the closing decades of the 19th Century.
Philippi, the county seat, was established in 1844 and named for Phillip Pendleton Barbour. It was originally known as Booth's Ferry or Anglin's Ford. Alderson-Broaddus College, located at Philippi, was established in 1901 as a result of the union of two earlier schools -- Broaddus Female College, formerly located at Clarksburg, and Alderson Academy, formerly located at Alderson.
back to Home forward to District Map
(From E. Lee North's 'The 55 West Virginias,' published by West Virginia University Press. Used with permission.)
|
