Taylor County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,705. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

is Grafton. The county was formed in 1844 and named for Senator

John Taylor of Caroline John Taylor (December 19, 1753August 21, 1824), usually called John Taylor of Caroline, was a politician and writer. He served in the Virginia House of Delegates (1779–81, 1783–85, 1796–1800) and in the United States Senate (1792–94, 1803 ...

. Taylor County is part of the Clarksburg, WV Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

This area was populated by the

Adena culture The Adena culture was a Pre-Columbian Native American culture that existed from 500 BCE to 100 CE, in a time known as the Early Woodland period. The Adena culture refers to what were probably a number of related Native American societies sharing ...

in the

Pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, ...

Woodland period of the

Native Americans in the United States Native Americans, also known as American Indians, First Americans, Indigenous Americans, and other terms, are the Indigenous peoples of the mainland United States ( Indigenous peoples of Hawaii, Alaska and territories of the United State ...

. Some of the first Europeans to visit the area are thought to have been

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

deserter Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL ), which ...

s from Fort Pitt, who reportedly fled their post in 1761 during the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...

and roamed northwestern Virginia for several years thereafter. A European trader with the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business di ...

reportedly set foot in these lands as early as 1764. Early History of Taylor County," West Virginia University /ref> Pruntytown is the oldest (''ca.'' 1798) known white settlement in what is now Taylor County. Initially known as Cross Roads, on January 1, 1801, it was renamed Williamsport in honor of Abraham Williams, a longtime resident. The name was changed again on January 23, 1845, to honor pioneer settler John Prunty, Sr (1745-1823) and son David. This town served as the

of government from the county's founding in 1844 until a county election in 1878 moved that honor to

Grafton, West Virginia Grafton is a city in and the county seat of Taylor County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 4,729 at the 2020 census. It originally developed as a junction point for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, serving numerous branches of ...

. The county was established by the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 16 ...

on January 19, 1844. It was formed out of parts of Barbour,

Harrison Harrison may refer to: People * Harrison (name) * Harrison family of Virginia, United States Places In Australia: * Harrison, Australian Capital Territory, suburb in the Canberra district of Gungahlin In Canada: * Inukjuak, Quebec, or " ...

, and

Marion Marion may refer to: People *Marion (given name) *Marion (surname) *Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion" *Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992) Places Antarctica * Mario ...

counties in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. Most historians think the county was named after John Taylor (1753-1824) of

Caroline County, Virginia Caroline County is a county (United States), United States county located in the eastern part of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. The northern boundary of the county borders on the Rappahannock River, notably at the hist ...

, while a minority believe it was named after

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...

. Fifteen justices were appointed by Governor

James McDowell James McDowell (October 13, 1795 – August 24, 1851) was the 29th Governor of Virginia from 1843 to 1846 and was a U.S. Congressman from 1846 to 1851. Biography McDowell was born at "Cherry Grove," near Rockbridge County, Virginia, on ...

to organize the newly formed county: John Asbury, Frederick Burdett, Dr. Joseph L. Carr, John Cather, John A. Guseman, Nathan Hall, Calder Haymond, Absalom Knotts, John Leeper, Charles W. Newlon, Jonathan Poe, Robert Reed, Joshua A. Robinson, William A. Rogers, and Benjamin Sinclair. On June 20, 1863, at the height of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, Taylor was one of fifty Virginia counties that were admitted to the Union as the state of West Virginia. Later that year, the counties were divided into

civil township A civil township is a widely used unit of local government in the United States that is subordinate to a county, most often in the northern and midwestern parts of the country. The term town is used in New England, New York, and Wisconsin to re ...

s, with the intention of encouraging local government. This proved impractical in the heavily rural state, and in 1872 the townships were converted into magisterial districts. Taylor County was initially divided into nine townships: Booths Creek, Clay, Court House, Fetterman, Flemington, Grafton, Haymond, Union, and Webster. Grafton Township was co-extensive with the town of Grafton.

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, U.S. Decennial Census, Tables of Minor Civil Divisions in West Virginia, 1870–2010. In 1871, Union Township was annexed by Grafton Township; the following year, Clay and Webster Townships were annexed by Court House Township, Haymond was annexed by Fetterman, and the five remaining townships were converted to magisterial districts. In the 1880s, Knottsville District was created from the part of Grafton District that lay outside the town of Grafton. Except for minor adjustments, the six historic districts remained largely unchanged for the next ninety years, until in the 1970s they were consolidated into three new magisterial districts: Central, Eastern, and Western. In the 1990s, Central District was renamed, becoming Tygart. The

West Virginia Equal Suffrage Association The West Virginia Equal Suffrage Association (WVESA) was an organization formed on November 29, 1895, at a conference in Grafton, West Virginia. This conference and the subsequent annual conventions were an integral part of the National American Wo ...

was founded in November 1895 at the Taylor County Courthouse after a meeting called by leaders of the

National American Woman Suffrage Association The National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) was an organization formed on February 18, 1890, to advocate in favor of women's suffrage in the United States. It was created by the merger of two existing organizations, the National ...

. Anna Jarvis, the founder of the

Mother's Day Mother's Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in th ...

, was a native of Taylor County, which is now home to the International Mother's Day Shrine.

Geography

According to the

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.7%) is water. It is the fifth-smallest county in West Virginia by area.

Major highways

U.S. 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...

* U.S. 119 * U.S. 250 * WV 76 * WV 310

Adjacent counties

* Monongalia County (north) *

Preston County Preston County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census, the population was 34,216. Its county seat is Kingwood, West Virginia, Kingwood. The county was form ...

(east) * Barbour County (south) * Harrison County (west) * Marion County (northwest)

Demographics

2000 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2000, there were 16,089 people, 6,320 households, and 4,487 families living in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 93 people per square mile (36/km²). There were 7,125 housing units at an average density of 41 per square mile (16/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.07%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 0.83%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.19% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.04%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 0.06% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 0.63% from two or more races. 0.59% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

or Latino of any race. There were 6,320 households, out of which 30.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.40% were married couples living together, 10.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.00% were non-families. 25.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.95. In the county, the population was spread out, with 22.90% under the age of 18, 7.90% from 18 to 24, 28.50% from 25 to 44, 24.90% from 45 to 64, and 15.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.90 males. The median income for a household in the county was $27,124, and the median income for a family was $32,222. Males had a median income of $29,349 versus $20,116 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $13,681. About 15.30% of families and 20.30% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 27.00% of those under age 18 and 16.10% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the

2010 United States census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servi ...

, there were 16,895 people, 6,778 households, and 4,703 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 7,541 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.5% white, 0.7% black or African American, 0.4% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.1% from other races, and 1.0% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.8% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 26.1% were German, 22.9% were

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

, 11.3% were American, 10.3% were English, 7.2% were

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

, and 5.1% were

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

. Of the 6,778 households, 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.6% were married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 30.6% were non-families, and 26.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.89. The median age was 42.3 years. The median income for a household in the county was $36,956 and the median income for a family was $45,620. Males had a median income of $38,085 versus $26,292 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,562. About 11.3% of families and 15.8% of the population were below the

, including 21.6% of those under age 18 and 16.0% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Communities

City

* Grafton (county seat)

Town

* Flemington

Magisterial districts

Current

*Eastern *Tygart *Western

Historic

*Booths Creek *Court House *Fetterman *Flemington *Grafton *Knottsville

Unincorporated communities

* Astor *

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

* Blueville * Brownlow * Elliotsville * Fetterman * Hardman (partial) * Hepzibah * Knottsville *

Lucretia According to Roman tradition, Lucretia ( /luːˈkriːʃə/ ''loo-KREE-shə'', Classical Latin: ʊˈkreːtɪ.a died c. 510 BC), anglicized as Lucrece, was a noblewoman in ancient Rome, whose rape by Sextus Tarquinius (Tarquin) and subseq ...

* McGee * Meadland * Millertown * Oreide * Park View * Pruntytown * Rosemont * Sandy *

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

Simpson Simpson most often refers to: * Simpson (name), a British surname *''The Simpsons'', an animated American sitcom **The Simpson family, central characters of the series ''The Simpsons'' Simpson may also refer to: Organizations Schools *Simpso ...

* South Grafton * Tappan * Thornton * Webster * Wendel *

West Grafton West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...

* Westerman

Footnotes

References

External links

West Virginia Archives and History references for Taylor County, West Virginia
{{authority control Northwestern Turnpike 1844 establishments in Virginia Populated places established in 1844 Clarksburg micropolitan area Counties of Appalachia