Congressman Alan B. Mollohan, Serving West Virginia's First District


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     Preston County is located in the north-central part of the state. Most of the county is drained by the Cheat River, though the Youghiogheny River rises in the southeastern corner of the county near the Maryland border. It is an area characterized by high rolling uplands.

     The first known permanent settler to arrive in Preston was Thomas Butler, who came to the county in 1766. Population was sparse for many years because transportation was poor and much of the land difficult to farm.

     Preston County was formed in 1818 from Monongalia County and was named in honor of James Peyton Preston, governor of Virginia from 1816-1818. In 1820 it had a population of 3,422. In the 1850s the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was completed through Preston County, linking it with Baltimore to the east and Wheeling to the west. Though at first the railroad passed through near wilderness, villages sprang up along the route.

     Coal production in Preston County began in the years following the Civil War, and by 1920 it had reached 1,909,128 tons. The lumber industry experienced a boom in this period as well, and by 1920 the population of the county had reached 27,996.

     Preston County was the site of one of the best-known social experiments of the 1930s. During that period the federal government attempted to alleviate the effects of the Depression on coal miners and their families by establishing a model homestead project at Arthurdale. The project was of special interest to Eleanor Roosevelt, who made frequent visits to the community. Because of Mrs. Roosevelt's involvement, Arthurdale received much publicity and was the center of both interest and controversy. Federal support was withdrawn at the outset of the Second World War.

     Kingwood, the county seat, was established in 1811 and incorporated in 1853. It was named for the unusual number of tall and stately trees growing in the area at the time.

     Terra Alta, formerly Green Glades, Cranberry Summit and Portland, was incorporated in 1890. It takes its present name from the Latin words for "high land."

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(From E. Lee North's 'The 55 West Virginias,' published by West Virginia University Press. Used with permission.)

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