Doddridge County, West Virginia

Doddridge County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: West Union
Year Organized: 1845
Square Miles: 320

Court House:

118 E Court St Rm 102
County Courthouse
West Union, WV 26456-1262

Etymology - Origin of County Name

For Phillip Doddridge, a distinguished statesman of Western Virginian

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

Early History of Doddridge County, West Virginia

Doddridge County was created by an act of the Virginia General Assembly on February 4, 1845 from parts of Harrison, Lewis, Tyler, and Richie counties. It was named in honor of Philip Doddridge (1772-1832), a famous statesman who traveled widely throughout the current site of West Virginia. It is not known if he ever set foot on what is now the county bearing his name.

Philip Doddridge was born in Bedford County, Pennsylvania on May 17, 1772, the second son of John and Mary (Willis) Doddridge. He applied himself to the study of law and settled down in Wellsburg, Virginia. Renowned for his debating skills, he quickly established himself as one of the best attorneys in Virginia. He served in the Virginia General Assembly in 1815-1816, 1822-1823, and 1828-1829. He was elected to the US House of Representatives in 1829 and served there until his death on November 19, 1832.

James Caldwell was the first known landowner in Doddridge County. He acquired the title to 20,000 acres of land in the county and patented the current site of West Union around 1787. He later sold the land to Nathan, Joseph and William Davis in 1807. The Davis family moved to West Union that year. It is said that the town's name was suggested by Nathan Davis. At that time, the town was located just across from Middle Island Creek from Lewisport, a small settlement of about six families. Lewisport was attempting to change its name to Union. Nathan Davis then suggested that their town, located just west of Union, be called West Union.

The Davis family sold most of their land, about 16,000 acres, to Lewis Maxwell, a Virginia congressman, for 23 cents per acre in 1808, 1809 or 1810. Among the first settlers to arrive in the new town were John Smith, Jacob Riley, Joseph Jeffrey and Matthew Neeley. John Chaney, who starting doing business in 1820, was the first merchant in the town. At about the same time, a post office was established in the town and appeared on the Virginia maps of the day as Lewisport, in honor Lewis Maxwell. On April 17, 1845, the first meeting of the county court was held at Nathan and Jane Davis' home. West Union, the county seat, was incorporated by the Virginia General Assembly on March 14, 1850 and by the West Virginia legislature in 1881.

Joseph H. Diss DeBar, noted artist, linguist, and the designer of the Great Seal and Coat of Arms of West Virginia, resided in Doddridge County.

Neighboring Counties:

East: Harrison County
North: Wetzel County
Northwest: Tyler County
Southeast: Lewis County
Southwest: Gilmer County; Ritchie County

Cities and Towns:

- West Union (County Seat)

town

Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resources

The history of our nation was a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names given the counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of this country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."