Barbour County, West Virginia
| Barbour County, West Virginia | |
|---|---|
Barbour County Courthouse
in Philippi |
|
 Location in the U.S. state of West Virginia |
|
 West Virginia's location in the U.S. |
|
| Founded | March 3, 1843 |
| Named for | Philip Pendleton Barbour |
| Seat | Philippi |
| Largest city | Philippi |
| Area | |
| • Total | 343 sq mi (888 km2) |
| • Land | 341 sq mi (883 km2) |
| • Water | 1.8 sq mi (5 km2), 0.5% |
| Population (est.) | |
| • (2015) | 16,704 |
| • Density | 49/sq mi (19/km²) |
| Congressional district | 1st |
| Time zone | Eastern: UTC-5/-4 |
| Website | www |
Barbour County is a county in north-central West Virginia, USA. At the 2010 census, the population was 16,589. The county seat is Philippi, which was chartered in 1844. Both county and city were named for Philip Pendleton Barbour (1783–1841), a U.S. Congressman from Virginia and Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. The county was formed in 1843 when the region was still part of the state of Virginia. In 1871, a small part of Barbour County was transferred to Tucker County, West Virginia.
The Battle of Philippi, also known as the "Philippi Races", was fought in Barbour County on June 3, 1861. Although a minor action, it is generally considered the first land engagement of the American Civil War.
Alderson Broaddus University, an American Baptist institution, is in the county. The University's Physician Assistant (PA) program is one of the world's oldest and best established.
The first white settlement in present-day Barbour County was established in 1780 by Richard Talbott – along with his brother Cotteral and sister Charity – about three miles (5 km) downriver from the future site of Philippi. At this time the region was still a part of Monongalia County, Virginia. The region had had no permanent Indian settlements and so conflicts with Native Americans were relatively infrequent in the early days. Nevertheless, the Talbotts were obliged to leave their homestead several times for safety and twice found it necessary to retreat back east of the Alleghenies, returning each time. No member of this eventually large family was ever killed by Indian attacks.
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