Greenbrier County, West Virginia

Greenbrier County, West Virginia
Greenbrier County Courthouse
Seal
Location in the U.S. state of West Virginia
West Virginia's location in the U.S.
Founded	October 20, 1778
Seat	Lewisburg
Largest city	Lewisburg
Area
• Total	1,025 sq mi (2,655 km2)
• Land	1,020 sq mi (2,642 km2)
• Water	4.9 sq mi (13 km2), 0.5%
Population (est.)
• (2015)	35,516
• Density	35/sq mi (14/km²)
Congressional district	3rd
Time zone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Website	www.greenbriercounty.net

Greenbrier County /ˈɡriːnbraɪər/, is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 35,480. Its county seat is Lewisburg. The county was formed in 1778 from Botetourt and Montgomery counties in Virginia.

Prior to the arrival of European settlers around 1740, Greenbrier County, like most of West Virginia, was used as a hunting grounds by the Shawnee and Cherokee Nations. This land, which they called Can-tuc-kee, was thought to be inhabited by ghosts of Azgens, a white people from an eastern sea who were said to have been killed off by the Shawnee's ancestors. According to the legend, the area was owned by the bones and ghosts of the Azgens, who would permit responsible hunting, but according to Black Fish, "we are never allowed to kill the game wantonly, and we are forbidden to settle in the country... If we did, these ghosts would rise from their caves and mounds and slay us, but they would set father against son and son against father and neighbor against neighbor and make them kill one another." Thus, hunting parties were permitted to camp in the area, permanent settlements east and south of the Spay-lay-we-theepi (Ohio River) were forbidden. ^:65-66

Shawnee leaders, including Pucksinwah and later his son Tecumseh, were alarmed by the arrival of the European settlers, who by 1771 had set up extensive trade in the area, as shown by the day books of early merchants Sampson and George Mathews that record the sale of even luxury items such as silk, hats, silver, and tailor-made suits. Shawnee leaders viewed the white settlements as a violation of the Azgen taboo, and they feared the loss of their hunting lands, which was vital to their survival. Furthermore, they realized it would only be a matter of time before the white settlers crossed the river and occupied their land in present-day Ohio.