KANAWHA COUNTY, VA HISTORY AND LOOKUP (EXTINCT COUNTY, NOW IN WV)
Table of Contents
- In-Print County History Books
- Free Public Domain County History Books
- Related Books
- Concise County History
- Comments & Suggestion
In-Print County History Books
These titles are currently in print and selected for their relevance to local and county history. Click anywhere on the book listing below, each listing links directly to the book’s purchase page.
Book Title TBD
This book is still being located or processed. Details will be added once available.
Free County History Books
This section features a curated collection of county history books sourced from public domain archives. Each book provides valuable insights into local history and heritage. Click anywhere on the book listing below, each listing links directly to the book’s public domain resource.
Book Title TBD
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Related Books
This section highlights additional county and local history titles that complement the main collection. These books are selected for their relevance, historical value, and research usefulness. Click anywhere on the book listing below, and each listing links directly to the corresponding resource or purchase page.
Book Title TBD
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Kanawha County, Virginia (now West Virginia): A Genealogical Overview
Located in the Appalachian Mountains of what is now West Virginia, Kanawha County was a vast frontier county of Virginia, rich in pioneer and industrial history. For genealogists, its past is defined by its origins as a massive territory carved from the Virginia frontier, its development as a center of the salt industry, and its pivotal role in the political and military events that led to the creation of West Virginia during the Civil War.
I. County Formation and Evolution
Kanawha County’s history as a Virginia county and its subsequent inclusion in West Virginia is the single most critical piece of information for researchers. Records before 1863 are Virginia records; records after that date are West Virginia records.
- Year of Creation: 1788.
- Parent County: It was formed from large portions of Greenbrier and Montgomery counties. Researchers seeking records that pre-date 1788 must consult the records of these parent Virginia counties.
- Original Territory & Daughter Counties: Kanawha County was immense and is the parent or grandparent county of all or part of at least 20 modern West Virginia counties, including Boone, Braxton, Cabell, Clay, Fayette, Gilmer, Jackson, Logan, Mason, Nicholas, Putnam, Roane, and Wirt. Its history is the history of the settlement of southwestern West Virginia.
- Boundary Changes: The county’s boundaries were drastically and repeatedly reduced as its vast territory was partitioned to form new counties between 1798 and the 1850s.
- Bordering Counties (Modern West Virginia):
- Putnam County (west)
- Jackson County (northwest)
- Roane County (north)
- Clay County (northeast)
- Fayette County (southeast)
- Raleigh County (southeast)
- Boone County (south)
- Lincoln County (southwest)
II. Settlement and Early History
- Early Inhabitants: Before European colonization, the area was a hunting and battleground for several Native American groups, most prominently the Shawnee and Cherokee. Fort Tackett and Fort Lee (at present-day Charleston) were early pioneer defenses.
- First Pioneers and Settlement: Settlement by English, Scots-Irish, and German pioneers began in earnest after the American Revolution, pushing west over the Allegheny Mountains. The county was named for the Kanawha River, which in turn was named for a local Native American tribe. The society that developed was not based on tobacco, but on industry, particularly the “Kanawha Salines”—a series of salt wells and furnaces near present-day Malden that made the area a major commercial and industrial center in the early 19th century.
- Civil War Significance: The Kanawha Valley was of immense strategic importance to both the Union and the Confederacy due to its saltworks and transportation routes. Loyalties in the county were sharply divided. A series of early battles and skirmishes, including the Battle of Scary Creek (1861) and the Battle of Charleston (1862), were fought for control of the valley. The Union ultimately secured the region, and leaders from Kanawha County were instrumental in the Wheeling Conventions that led to West Virginia’s secession from Virginia and its admission to the Union as a separate state in 1863.
III. Genealogical Records and Resources
This section provides the practical information needed to locate ancestral records, keeping the Virginia/West Virginia split in mind.
- County Seat: Charleston, West Virginia. This has been the only county seat.
- Record Loss & Preservation: Kanawha County is a treasure for genealogists as its records are remarkably complete. It is not a “burned” county, and the courthouse holds historical records dating back to its formation in 1788.
- Location of Records:
- Kanawha County Courthouse: Located at 409 Virginia St E, Charleston, WV 25301. This is the central repository for the county’s historical records, including deeds, wills, court orders, and marriage records from 1788 onward.
- Vital Records:
- Birth and Death Records: Virginia’s statewide registration (1853-1896) applied to Kanawha County until 1863, and these early records are available at the county courthouse and the WV State Archives. West Virginia began its own statewide registration of births and deaths in 1917, with some earlier records kept at the county level.
- Marriage Records: Marriage bonds and licenses are available from 1789 onward and are held at the Kanawha County Courthouse.
- Libraries with Genealogy Collections:
- Kanawha County Public Library: Located in Charleston, the main branch has a dedicated West Virginia history and genealogy room with significant local resources.
- West Virginia Archives and History Library: Located in the Culture Center in Charleston, this is the primary state archive and the single most essential resource for any West Virginia researcher. It holds a vast collection of materials that supplement county records, including state-level land grants, tax lists, military records, and an extensive collection of county records on microfilm.
This county history was generated by AI and may be inaccurate or incomplete; please verify important information independently.