Kanawha County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 180,745, making it West Virginia's most populous county. The county seat is Charleston, which is also the state capital and most populous city.
Kanawha County is part of the Charleston, WV Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
The word Kanawha (pronounced "Ka-NAH-wah"), Ka(h)nawha, derives from the region's Iroquoian dialects, meaning "water way" or "Canoe Way", implying the metaphor "transport way". Kanawha County was named in honor of the Kanawha River that runs through the county. The spelling varied at the time from Conoys to Conois to Kanawha. The phrase has been a matter of register. A two-story jail was the first county structure to be built, with the first floor dug into the bank of the Kanawha River.
The county began taking shape on November 14, 1788, under the authorization of the Virginia General Assembly, and was founded on October 5, 1789. The county was named for the Kanawha River. During the American Civil War, a number of state infantry and cavalry regiments were organized in the county for both Confederate Army and Union Army service.
In 1863, West Virginia's counties were divided into civil townships, 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. Kanawha County was divided into ten districts: Big Sandy, Cabin Creek, Charleston, Elk, Jefferson, Loudon, Malden, Poca, Union, and Washington. In the 1970s, the historic districts were consolidated into five new magisterial districts: District 1, District 2, District 3, District 4, and District 5. A District 6 was created in the 1980s, but in the 1990s the county was redistricted again, reducing the number of magisterial districts to four: District 1, District 2, District 3, and District 4.
Kanawha County was the site of a bloody miners' strike in 1912, and a school textbook controversy in 1974, that resulted in bombings, and received national attention.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.0%) is water. It is the fourth-largest county in West Virginia by area.
Adjacent counties
- Roane County (north)
- Clay County (northeast)
- Nicholas County (east)
- Fayette County (east)
- Raleigh County (southeast)
- Boone County (south)
- Lincoln County (southwest)
- Putnam County (west)
- Jackson County (northwest)
Major highways
- 20px Interstate 64
- 20px Interstate 77
- 20px Interstate 79
- 20px U.S. Route 60
- 25px U.S. Route 119
- 20px West Virginia Route 4
- 20px West Virginia Route 25
- 20px West Virginia Route 34
- 20px West Virginia Route 61
- 20px West Virginia Route 62
- 20px West Virginia Route 94
- 25px West Virginia Route 114
- 25px West Virginia Route 214
- 25px West Virginia Route 501
- 25px West Virginia Route 601
- 25px West Virginia Route 622
- 25px West Virginia Route 817