West Union, West Virginia
| West Union, West Virginia | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
Main Street in West Union in 2006
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 Location of West Union, West Virginia |
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| Coordinates: 39°17′44″N 80°46′33″W / 39.29556°N 80.77583°WCoordinates: 39°17′44″N 80°46′33″W / 39.29556°N 80.77583°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | West Virginia |
| County | Doddridge |
| Area | |
| • Total | 0.38 sq mi (0.98 km2) |
| • Land | 0.36 sq mi (0.93 km2) |
| • Water | 0.02 sq mi (0.05 km2) |
| Elevation | 787 ft (240 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 825 |
| • Estimate (2012) | 822 |
| • Density | 2,291.7/sq mi (884.8/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 26456 |
| Area code(s) | 304 |
| FIPS code | 54-86116 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1548944 |
West Union, incorporated July 20, 1881, is a town in Doddridge County, West Virginia, USA. The population was 825 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Doddridge County. The mayor is Joseph Thorpe as of 2013. The town is located along Middle Island Creek at the junction of U.S. Route 50 and West Virginia Route 18; the North Bend Rail Trail also passes through the town.
The area was first settled in the late 1780s by James Caldwell, who owned 20,000 acres (81 km2) of land that included present West Union. Caldwell sold this land to Nathan Davis, Jr (1772-1866) and his brothers about 1807. They in turn sold 16,000 acres (65 km2) to Lewis Maxwell (1790-1862), a Virginia congressman.
The settlement was originally called Lewisport, but Davis later supposedly suggested the name of "West Union", in deference to a proposed town of Union to be built on the eastern side of Middle Island Creek. (Union has disappeared, if it ever existed.) According to an early resident, A.A. Bee: "The first bridge across Middle Island Creek [at West Union] was of hewed logs with a center abutment of stones. In the great flood of 1835 it was washed away". In 1842, a contract was awarded to the well-known civil engineer Claudius Crozet to build a new covered bridge at West Union, as part of a series of public works along the Northwestern Turnpike. Ephraim Bee (1802–1888), a local blacksmith (who was also a district officer, magistrate, state legislator, hotelier, and postmaster at various times) made all the bolts and bands for the West Union Covered Bridge which was completed in 1843.
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