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Calhoun County History and Information

Calhoun County Facts

See D.O.T. Maps for a Detailed County Map

Calhoun County was created by an act of the Virginia General Assembly on March 5, 1856 from Gilmer County. At that time, the county had less than 2,500 residents.

The Calhoun County Seat - The first meeting of the Calhoun County court was held on April 14, 1856 at the home of Joseph W. Burson (later killed at the Battle of Arnoldsburg). His home was located at the mouth of Pine Creek, on the Little Kanawha River. The first members of the court were: Harrison R. Ferrel, Joshua S. Knight, Miram Ferrel, Daniel Duskey, George Lynch, Jr., and William A. Brennon.

In September 1856, the justices of the county court met at a house near the residence of Peregrine Hays in Arnoldsburg. In the meantime, the act creating the county specified that the county's residents were to determine if the permanent county seat was to be located at Pine Bottom, the mouth of Yellow Creek, or at the "neck of the Big Bend." In November 1856, the county's voters choose the site at the mouth of Yellow Creek. However, the county justices did not get along, and two county courts emerged, one consisting of the leading citizens from Arnoldsburg, and the other from Pine Bottom. A unified county court was established at Yellow Creek, the current site of Brooksville, on September 15, 1857. The following year, the county seat moved back to Arnoldsburg and the county court acquired land from Peregrine Hays to build a county courthouse.

In 1862, Union forces under the command of Thomas M. Harris captured Arnoldsburg and placed Peregrine Hays under arrest as a political prisoner. The state legislature then moved the county seat to Grantsville. It was originally settled by Eli Riddle during the 1820s, but the land was owned by Simon and Ruth Stump when it was platted in 1866. They named the town in honor of General Ulysses Simpson Grant, General of the Union Army during the Civil War and later the 18th President of the United States (1869-1877). The town was incorporated in 1896.

Once the Civil War concluded, the citizens of Arnoldsburg demanded that the county seat be returned to them. In 1869, a fire of mysterious origin destroyed the courthouse under construction in Grantsville before it was occupied. Soon after, the state legislature ordered the county to move the county seat back to Arnoldsburg. The county court met in Arnoldsburg on August 26, 1869, but then met at Grantsville in September, and then back in Arnoldsburg in November. An election was held in October 1869 to settle the issue. The voters selected Grantsville as the county seat. The leading citizens of Arnoldsburg then contested the election. Their appeal failed. In 1898, the leading citizens of Arnoldsburg claimed that the courthouse at Grantsville was unsafe and attempted to get the county seat changed once again. Another election was held, and the county's voters, 935-925, decided to keep the county seat in Grantsville.

Calhoun County was named in honor of John Caldwell Calhoun (1782-1850), a famous South Carolina statesman who championed state's rights. He was born in Abbeville district, South Carolina on March 18, 1782. His father was a farmer in the state's Piedmont area (high lands) and a slave owner. John Calhoun was self-educated as a youngster and entered Yale in 1801. He graduated from Yale with honors in 1804, attended law school in Litchfield, Connecticut, and was admitted to the South Carolina bar in 1807. He was elected to the South Carolina state legislature in 1808, serving from 1809 to 1811. In 1811, he married a wealthy cousin, Floride Bonneau Calhoun. Also, that year, he was elected to represent South Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives and served there until 1817 when he was named James Monroe's Secretary of War (1817-1825). During his congressional career, Calhoun championed what became known as the "American System" - a combination of protective tariffs to protect domestic industries from foreign competition, increased funding for internal transportation projects, and a national bank to regulate the value of money. In 1824, he was elected Vice-President of the United States and served in John Quincy Adams' administration. He was re-elected in 1828 and served in Andrew Jackson's administration. By that time, he had revised his position on the tariff and formulated his famous doctrine of nullification, arguing that states could use their sovereign rights to nullify acts of congress. In November 1832, a special convention in South Carolina declared the tariff null and void within the state. Jackson supported the tariff, placing Calhoun in an awkward situation. Calhoun resigned as Vice-President and entered the U.S. Senate to defend South Carolina's rights. He served in the Senate from 1832 to 1843. In 1844, he joined John Tyler's administration as Secretary of State (1844-1845) and led the effort to annex Texas into the Union. In 1845, he returned to the Senate and served there until his death on March 31, 1850. See also Extended History for more historical details.

Areas adjacent to Calhoun County are Ritchie County (north), Gilmer County (east), Braxton County (southeast), Clay County (south), Roane County (west), Wirt County (northwest).. Calhoun County Cities and Towns Include Arnoldsburg, Big Bend, Big Springs, Chloe, Five Forks, Floe, Grantsville, Millstone, Minnora, Mount Zion, Nobe, Orma, Sand Ridge, Tanner

Official County Government/ Community Website
Calhoun County, West Virginia History Books at Amazon.com
Family History Library - The largest collection of free family history, family tree and genealogy records in the world.

Calhoun County Court Records

See Also West Virginia Land Records, Marriage Records, Court & Probate Records

PLEASE READ!! Please call the clerk's department to confirm hours, mailing address, fees and other specifics before visiting or requesting information because of sometimes changing contact information.

Calhoun County Clerk has Land Records from 1856, Marriage Records from 1856, Probate Records from 1856 and Birth & Death Records from 1856 -Present and is located at the Courthouse, P.O. Box 230, Grantsville, WV 26147; 304-354-6725 ,Fax: 304-354-6725.
The County Clerk's many duties include some of the following: the issuance of marriage licenses, birth and death certificates, record births, marriages and deaths in the county, serve as the recorder of all documents, prepare and send to all heirs a Notice to Redeem and take care of publications, redemptions or recording deeds with regard to delinquent property, issue military service discharge records and probate wills and assist in administration of estates.

Calhoun County Clerk of Circuit Court has Court Records from 1856 and is located at the Courthouse,P. O. Box 266, Grantsville, WV 26147-0266; 304-354-6910, Fax: 304-354-6910 .
The County Clerk of the Circuit Court's many duties include some of the following: Serve as the Clerk to the Circuit and Family Court, Issue mesne (during the progress of a case) process, Issue final process to enforce and execute judgements, Appoint guardian ad litem where required, Responsible for all papers filed in the office; serve as registrar, recorder and custodian for all pleadings, documents and funds pertaining to cases filed in circuit court and family court, Responsible for the administration and management of the petit and grand jury systems in the county.

Since West Virginia was part of Virginia prior to 1863, see Virginia Databases for all records before that date.

Click Here to Search West Virginia Court, Land, Wills & Financial Records! - Researchers often overlook the importance of court records, probate records, and land records as a source of family history information.

Below is a list of online resources for Calhoun County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Calhoun County Court Records by clicking the link below:

West Virginia Marriage Records, 1863-1900
Calhoun County, West Virginia Court Books at Amazon.com
West Virginia Immigration & Emigration Records - Immigration records help the family historian to understand the movements of their ancestry as they relocated to different parts of the world.

Calhoun County Vital Records

See Also Research In Tax Records

While people were taxed in Virginia prior to 1782, not many tax lists for that early period have survived, and the originals that have survived are at the Virginia State Library. Colonial period taxes were imposed on the personal property of males who were twenty-one and older, and called "tithables." While there is no comprehensive list or collection of early tax lists, many fragments are printed throughout Virginia genealogical literature

West Virginia has one of the most complete sets of old tax records in existence. Land tax records dating from 1782 to 1936 for all counties, with some through 1959, are available at the Archives and History Library in Charleston. Most county clerks have duplicate copies in their offices. As noted in the section on Virginia, the Virginia State Library has the original unindexed personal property tax records from 1782 to 1863.

Below is a list of online resources for Calhoun County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Calhoun County Tax Records by clicking the link below:

Calhoun County, West Virginia Tax Books at Amazon.com

Calhoun County Genealogical Addresses

The Repositories in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be more generalized and over look the smaller details that local societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy section and may have some resources that are not located at archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All these places are vitally important to the family genealogist and must not be passed over.

Below is a list of online resources for Calhoun County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Calhoun County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:

Calhoun County Historical and Genealogical Society, P. O. Box 242, Grantsville, WV 26147-0242
Local West Virginia Researchers, Find a local researcher or become a local researcher.
West Virginia Archives and History, The Cultural Center; 1900 Kanawha Boulevard, E.; Charleston, WV 25305-0300. Read here before requesting research
Publication: West Virginia History. This facility consists of the library, archives, and a museum containing materials from 1760 to present.
West Virginia Genealogical Society, Post Office Box 249, Elkview, West Virginia 25071
West Virginia Historical Society, PO Box 5220, Charleston, WV 25361
West Virginia Newspapers & Periodicals Records - Newspapers and periodicals are the diaries of local communities. They are excellent sources of family history details - often recorded nowhere else. Look for obituaries, marriages, legal notices, and more found in our Historical Newspaper Archives.
West Virginia Genealogical Society Books at Amazon.com

Calhoun County Church & Cemeteries

Click Here to Search West Virginia Obituary Records! - This database is a compilation of obituaries published in U.S. newspapers, collected from various online sources. Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as names, dates, places of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships.

There are many churches and cemeteries in Calhoun County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Calhoun County Tombstone Transcription Project.

Many religious groups have deposited their records at the West Virginia and Regional History Collection. Church record inventories compiled as part of the Historical Records Survey are available there and at the FHL. For a complete discussion of early church records, see Virginia-Church Records.

The most extensive collection of West Virginia tombstone inscriptions was compiled by the Historical Records Survey. Available at the West Virginia and Regional History Collection and on microfilm at the FHL, the collection includes inscriptions through 1939-40. The DAR and others have published volumes of cemetery records.

Below is a list of online resources for Calhoun County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Calhoun County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:

Find Obituaries in The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of West Virginia obituaries to help you research your family history. Search for a West Virginia newspaper obituary about your ancestor or a celebrity. Begin your search today and find death notices and funeral announcements printed in newspapers from West Virginia.
West Virginia Cemetery Readings, 1941
Calhoun County, West Virginia Cemetery Books at Amazon.com
Calhoun County, West Virginia Church Books at Amazon.com

Family Trees & Genealogy Tidbits

Click Here to Search West Virginia Family Tree Records! - The use of published genealogies, electronic files containing genealogical lineage, and other compiled sources can be of tremendous value to a researcher.

When view family trees online or not, be sure to only take the info at face value and always follow up with your own sources or verify the ones they provide. Below is a list of online resources for Calhoun County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Calhoun County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:

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Search the Family Tree DNA Project- Use DNA testing to break through your genealogical barriers!
Sites on USGenweb: [ Calhoun County ] [ West Virginia ] [ Main Page ]
[GenForum Message Boards] [Rootsweb Message Boards]
Genealogy Encyclopedia: General Abbreviations, Early Illnesses, Nickname Meanings, Worldwide Epidemics, Early Occupations, Common Terms, Censuses Explained, Free Genealogical Forms
Nichols and Related Families of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virgina.
West Virginia Family & Local History Records - The Family & Local Histories Collection lets you read journals, memoirs, and other first-hand historical narratives right on your computer. Gathered from some of the world's finest libraries, these materials may provide hard-to-find town, county, and state information; tax records and wills; military, church, and court records; as well as photographs, stories, and maps.
Genealogical Document Search and Retrieval Service
Calhoun County, West Virginia Family Books at Amazon.com

County History

The First Settlers

The first native settlers in central West Virginia (Braxton, Calhoun, Clay, Gilmer, Lewis, Nicholas, Roane, Upshur, and Webster counties) were the Mound Builders, also known as the Adena people. Remnants of their civilization have been found throughout northern West Virginia, with many artifacts found in the Northern Panhandle, especially in Marshall County.

The following is a brief history overview

Several thousand Hurons occupied present-day West Virginia during the late 1500s and early 1600s.
During the 1600s, the Iroquois Confederacy (then consisting of the Mohawk, Onondaga, Cayuga, Oneida, and Seneca tribes) drove the Hurons from the state and used it primarily as a hunting ground.
During the early 1700s, the Shawnee, Mingo, Delaware, and other Indian tribes also used present-day West Virginia as a hunting ground. West Virginia's Potomac Highlands was inhabited by the Tuscarora. They eventually migrated northward to New York and, in 1712, became the sixth nation to formally be admitted to the Iroquois Confederacy. The Cherokee Nation claimed southern West Virginia.
In 1744, Virginia officials purchased the Iroquois title of ownership to West Virginia in the Treaty of Lancaster.
The Delaware, Mingo, and Shawnee sided with the French during the French and Indian War (1755-1763). The Iroquois Confederacy officially remained neutral, but many in the Iroquois Confederacy allied with the French.
When the French and Indian War was over, England's King George III feared that more tension between Native Americans and settlers was inevitable. In an attempt to avert further bloodshed, he issued the Proclamation of 1763, prohibiting settlement west of the Allegheny Mountains. The Proclamation was, for the most part, ignored.
During the summer of 1763, Ottawa Chief Pontiac led raids on key British forts in the Great Lakes region. Shawnee Chief Keigh-tugh-qua, also known as Cornstalk, led similar raids on western Virginia settlements. The uprisings ended on August 6, 1763 when British forces, under the command of Colonel Henry Bouquet, defeated Delaware and Shawnee forces at Bushy Run in western Pennsylvania.
In 1768, the Iroquois Confederacy (often called the Six Nations) and the Cherokee signed the Treaty of Hard Labour and the Treaty of Fort Stanwix, relinquishing their claims on the territory between the Ohio River and the Alleghenies to the British.
In April 1774, the Yellow Creek Massacre took place near Wheeling. Among the dead were Mingo Chief Logan's brother and pregnant sister. Violence then escalated intoLord Dunmore's War.
On October 10, 1774, Colonel Andrew Lewis and approximately 800 men defeated 1,200 Indian warriors led by Shawnee Chief Cornstalk at the Battle of Point Pleasant, ending Lord Dunmore's War.
The Mingo and Shawnee allied with the British during the American Revolutionary War (1776-1783). One of the more notable battles occurred in 1777 when a war party of 350 Wyandot, Shawnee, and Mingo warriors, armed by the British, attacked Fort Henry, near present-day Wheeling. Nearly half of the Americans manning the fort were killed in the three-day assault. Following the war, the Mingo and Shawnee, once again allied with the losing side, returned to their homes in Ohio. As the number of settlers in the region grew, both the Mingo and the Shawnee move further inland, leaving western Virginia to the white settlers.

Calhoun County's European Pioneers and Settlers

In 1770, George Washington was surveying in the vicinity of Calhoun County. He reported in his journal a chance meeting with a Mr. Ennis. Most historians credit Ennis as Calhoun County's first English settler. Washington also noted meeting several ginseng traders that visited the area regularly. Later that year, six men, including William White, Thomas Drennen, Paul Shaver, and John Cutright, passed through the county as they scouted for Indians along the Ohio, Kanawha, and Little Kanawha Rivers. In 1772, William Lowther, Jesse Hughes, and Elias Hughes journeyed from the West Fork Valley into the Little Kanawha Valley, generally following the Hughes River, named for the two brothers. George Washington also received reports during the 1780s from Captain Thomas Swearengen, Captain John Hardin, and Zackquill Morgan of their explorations of present-day Calhoun County.

Abraham Thomas was probably the first, permanent, settler in present-day Calhoun County. In 1774, he was granted four hundred acres in the county and built a cabin on his land along the banks of the Little Kanawha River. Other early settlers included Michael Stump (1804), Phillip Starcher, Sr. (1810), and James Mayse (1814).

Important Events in Calhoun County during the 1800s

Robert Clifford is the first recorded teacher in Calhoun County. In 1818, he taught twelve students in a cave near Annamoriah.

During the Civil War, most of the county's residents sided with the Confederacy. When Union forces entered the county in 1861, many of the local residents joined the Mocassin Rangers, a para-military organization led by George Downs, Daniel Dusky, Peter Saurburn, Perry Conley, and his friend, Nancy Hart, know locally as the "Lady Guerilla." The Rangers engaged in a number of skirmishes with the Union forces, including battles in November 1861 in and around Grantsville and in May 6, 1862 at Arnoldsburg.