Wardensville, West Virginia
| Wardensville, West Virginia | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
Historic structures along Main Street in Wardensville, West Virginia
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| Coordinates: 39°4′32″N 78°35′40″W / 39.07556°N 78.59444°WCoordinates: 39°4′32″N 78°35′40″W / 39.07556°N 78.59444°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | West Virginia |
| County | Hardy |
| GovernmentThe Council is made up of 5 Councilors and a Recorder | |
| • Type | Mayor/Council |
| • Mayor | Barbara Ratcliff |
| Area | |
| • Total | 0.33 sq mi (0.85 km2) |
| • Land | 0.32 sq mi (0.83 km2) |
| • Water | 0.01 sq mi (0.03 km2) |
| Elevation | 1,010 ft (308 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 271 |
| • Estimate (2012) | 273 |
| • Density | 846.9/sq mi (327.0/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 26851 |
| Area code(s) | 304 |
| FIPS code | 54-84580 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1553382 |
Wardensville is a town in Hardy County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 271 at the 2010 census. Originally named Trout Run, Wardensville was chartered in Virginia in 1832 and incorporated in West Virginia in 1879. Wardensville is located west of the North Mountain range, which separates it from the Shenandoah Valley. The town lies on the east bank of the Cacapon River at its confluence with Trout Run. The George Washington and Jefferson National Forests border the town to its east and south.
The land which Wardensville occupies was originally part of the Northern Neck Proprietary, a 5 million acre tract granted by England's King Charles II and formally established after the restoration of the English monarchy in 1660. In 1719, the land was inherited by Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron who administered many of the land grants to the early European settlers who began arriving in the Capon Valley in the second quarter of the eighteenth century. William H. Warden is believed to be the first settler within the present town. He received a parcel of land from Thomas Fairfax, reportedly surveyed by George Washington, on November 11, 1749.
During the French and Indian War, hostilities between the English settlers and the Native American populations in the South Branch and Capon Valleys led to the construction of a string of fortified outposts including Fort Warden or "Warden's Fort," erected by William Warden at a place called Trout Run (later the town of Wardensville). According to historian Samuel Kercheval, the fort was attacked in 1758 when it was burned. Warden and his family did not survive the attack on the fort.
The town of Wardensville was established in 1832 when the Virginia General Assembly granted a charter declaring "that the town of Wardensville, in the county of Hardy, as the same has been heretofore laid off into lots, streets and alleys, or as the same may be hereafter further laid off and extended into lots, streets and alleys, shall be, and the same is hereby made a town corporate, to be known and distinguished by the name of Wardensville." The first trustees of the town were James Scanting, Samuel Fry, John Pierce, Simon Switzer, and James W. Baker. The town was incorporated by the West Virginia Legislature in 1879.
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