thumb|right|A coal miner's house and family, 1946
McDowell County is a county in the State of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,111, and was estimated to be 16,878 in 2025. McDowell County is the southernmost county in the state. It was created in 1858 by the Virginia General Assembly and named for Virginia Governor James McDowell. It became a part of West Virginia in 1863, when several Union-affiliated counties seceded from the state of Virginia during the American Civil War. McDowell County is located in the Cumberland Mountains, part of the Appalachia region.
Due mostly to a decline in employment in the coal mining industry, McDowell County's population has decreased from almost 100,000 in 1950 to less than 20,000 in 2020. The people of McDowell County suffer high rates of drug abuse and poverty and have a life expectancy well below the national average.
History
On February 20, 1858, McDowell County was formed from the northern portion of Tazewell County, Virginia. The northwestern counties of the region were Union-affiliated and voted to secede from Virginia the following year, but McDowell, Greenbrier, Logan, Mercer, Monroe, Pocahontas, Webster, and Wyoming counties in the southern section all refused to participate. The status of these eight counties would be decided by the United States Supreme Court in the case of Virginia v. West Virginia.<!-- Needs more explanation and date-->
McDowell was one of fifty former Virginia counties that were recognized as the state of West Virginia on June 20, 1863. The same year, the residents of McDowell County chose Perryville, now English, then the most populous town, as their new county seat. The location of the county seat remained in dispute until 1892, when it moved to Welch. McDowell County was divided into three districts: Big Creek, Elkhorn, and Sandy River. In the 1890s, Browns Creek District was formed from a portion of Elkhorn, and North Fork District was created from parts of Browns Creek and Elkhorn. A sixth district, Adkin, was created from part of Elkhorn District in the early 1900s. These districts remained stable until the 1980s, when Adkin, Elkhorn, and North Fork were consolidated into the district of North Elkin.
Referring to the unconventional demographics and political state of McDowell County, a local newspaper editor described the county as "the Free State of McDowell", a description that has stuck in the popular imagination. The origin of this moniker is unknown. Tom Whittico, the founder and first editor of The McDowell Times—the first African-American paper in West Virginia—said he used it because African Americans had greater electoral power, civil freedoms, and freedom from segregation in McDowell County than in other locations in the state.
McDowell County had the first World War One Memorial to honor black soldiers.
While running for president, John F. Kennedy visited McDowell County and promised to send help if elected. His first executive order created the Food Stamps program and the first recipients of food stamps were in McDowell County. In May 1963, the increasing rate of poverty in McDowell County led President Kennedy to remark in a speech given in the city of Welch:
<blockquote>I don't think any American can be satisfied to find in McDowell County, in West Virginia, 20 or 25 percent of the people of that county out of work, not for 6 weeks or 12 weeks, but for a year, 2, 3, or 4 years.</blockquote>
Geography
thumb|right|[[Anawalt Lake Wildlife Management Area in McDowell County]]
McDowell County is the southernmost county in West Virginia. It is bordered by Tazewell County, Virginia, to the south; Buchanan County, Virginia, to the west; Mingo County to the northwest; Wyoming County to the north; and Mercer County to the east. The county is located in the Cumberland Mountains, a sub-region of the Appalachian Mountains. The highest elevation in the county is approximately on the northwest slope of Flat Top Mountain.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.27%) is water. It is the 13rd largest county in West Virginia by total area. The county is roughly in the shape of a semi-circle, with the border following the mountains around the county.