Wood & Wirt Counties,

West Virginia

New 55 Page Booklet

Early days in Wood and Wirt Counties, WV, are recalled in this booklet comprised of excerpts from four rare vintage books: Historical Collections of Virginia by Henry Howe (1845); West Virginia in History, Life, Literature and Industry by Morris Purdy Shawkey; History of West Virginia by Virgil A. Lewis; and Virginia, a Guide to the Mountain State, a WPA publication (1941). The booklet is printed on 60# opaque paper, with the print size enlarged as needed to fit the 8 1/2 x 11 size. The front cover is a parchtex card stock, protected with a vinyl sheet.

Towns mentioned in the booklet include: Wood: Parkersburg (County Seat), Elizabeth, Blennerhassett's Island, Mineral Wells, Neal's Station, Vienna, Williamstown Wirt: Elizabeth (County Seat), and Burning Springs,

Other communities listed in the county today include: Wood: Belleville, Boaz, Davisville, Fort Neal, Lubeck, New England, North Hills, Rockport, Walker, Washington, anderly, and ; Wert: Brohard, Creston, Munday, and Palestine .

Among the many subjects included are: Various views of Blannerhasset's Island and accounts of Aaron Burr's Plot, an 1806 visitor's description of the island; James Wood, first courts, early public buildings, founding and history of Parkersburg, a map of Parkersburg and a tour of points of interest, where names came from, the Tomlinson House and the Henderson House, the glass industry, the First Circuit Court in Wirt County, Wirt pioneers, the boom-town history of Burning springs, and other bits of history and trivia.

A special section has been added to this booklet pertaining to the history of the Mineral Wells area.

Attention Genealogists: This booklet contains relatively detailed biographies of many county residents of the late 1800s. They frequently include ancestors, siblings, children, in-laws, affiliations, war records, and business activities, in the course of which they often shed light on the businesses, churches, professions and institutions, and on the events of the day. They include: Wood County: Ira Connolly, Averall E. Elliott, Merton Blair Gibbens, Dr. Paris L. Gray, Henry C. Howe, Judge Okey Johnson, Frank A. King, Henry Ambrose Langfitt, Frank McKim, Dr. John Ewell McQuain, Charles E. Pahl, Dr. Clermont E. Park, Blair Plate, Kinnaird Snodgrass, Carroll Cecil Stealey, Paul E. Thomas, Miss Lynette I. Vaughan, Robert Widmeyer. Wirt County: Walter W. Franklin, Walter Lee Hoffman, George W. Roberts, and Camden A. Sims.

Wouldn't this make a unique gift?