Taylor County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,705. Its county seat is Grafton. The county was formed in 1844 and named for Senator John Taylor of Caroline. Taylor County is part of the Clarksburg, WV Micropolitan Statistical Area.
History
This area was populated by the Adena culture in the Pre-Columbian Woodland period of the Native Americans in the United States.
Some of the first Europeans to visit the area are thought to have been British Army deserters from Fort Pitt, who reportedly fled their post in 1761 during the French and Indian War and roamed northwestern Virginia for several years thereafter. A European trader with the Hudson's Bay Company reportedly set foot in these lands as early as 1764.
Pruntytown is the oldest ( 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 county seat of government from the county's founding in 1844 until a county election in 1878 moved that honor to Grafton, West Virginia. 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.
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. after a meeting called by leaders of the National American Woman Suffrage Association.
Anna Jarvis, the founder of the Mother's Day, was a native of Taylor County, which is now home to the International Mother's Day Shrine.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, 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
- 20px U.S. 50
- 23px U.S. 119
- 23px U.S. 250
- 20px WV 76
- 23px WV 310
Adjacent counties
- Monongalia County (north)
- Preston County (east)
- Barbour County (south)
- Harrison County (west)
- Marion County (northwest)