Editing Elkins, West Virginia (section)

==History==
[[File:Elkins, Randolph County, W.Va. 1897. LOC 75696679.jpg|thumb|left|An 1897 bird's eye view of Elkins]]

Thomas Skidmore (''ca.'' 1733-1807), born in Maryland, obtained a title to 400 acres of land (“by virtue of a settlement”) in the future Elkins area before 1778. This land, on the east side of the [[Tygart Valley River]], was surveyed by John Poage in 1780 and included the land that is now most of downtown Elkins. Thus, Skidmore was probably the first white settler in what became Elkins.<ref>“He obtained a clear title to 400 acres of land by virtue of a settlement made before 1778 on the east side of the Tygart Valley River, adjoining the land of Robert Cunningham. It was surveyed by John Poage on 14 November 1780, who with his chain carriers set off the tract as 288 acres, and on 1 June 1782 a perfected title to the land was returned to him from the Land Office. It included the land that is now most of downtown Elkins, the park, the Wees Addition, both sides of the river from roughly the rear entrance of McDonald's Restaurant to Porter Avenue, South Elkins north of 11th Street, and all of Diamond and Wees Street. David Armstrong, who has made a careful study of the early land titles in Elkins, thinks that his cabin stood on the west side of Randolph Avenue at its intersection with Henry Avenue where St. Brendan's Catholic School was later located. He credits Thomas Skidmore with being the first white settler in central Elkins. He does not seem to have made an immediate settlement at Elkins however, for he appears in 1784 on a tax list taken on the South Branch in Pendleton County where he headed a family of seven white souls.” (Skidmore, Warren (2010), ''Thomas Skidmore (Scudamore), 1605-1684, of Westerleigh, Gloucestershire, and Fairfield, Connecticut; his ancestors, and descendants to the ninth generation''; [[Akron, Ohio]]; Sixth Edition; pg 143.)</ref>

Before its major development, the area that would become Elkins was known as Leadsville, and was the site of a few scattered homesteads – a place where the local farmers' corn crop was loaded onto boats and floated down the [[Tygart Valley River]]. The City of Elkins was developed by [[U.S. Senator]]s [[Henry G. Davis]] (1823–1916) and [[Stephen B. Elkins]] (1841–1911) – and named for the latter – in 1890. (Elkins was Davis' son-in-law.) The two founders developed railroad lines, coal mines, and [[logging|timbering]] businesses. Together, they built the [[West Virginia Central and Pittsburgh Railway]] into Elkins in 1889, opening a vast territory to industrial development by the late 1890s. After an intense [[county seat war]] with nearby [[Beverly, West Virginia|Beverly]], where the new county courthouse building was burned down in 1897 under suspicious circumstances,{{citation needed|date=March 2016}} Elkins became the county seat in 1899. This was resolved, however, only after multiple referendums, court judgments, and the mobilization of armed bands in both towns. In the end, bloodshed was averted.

In 1904 the new [[Randolph County Courthouse and Jail|Randolph County Courthouse]] – designed in the [[Richardsonian Romanesque]] style – was completed in Elkins. As the railroad (merged into the [[Western Maryland Railway]] in 1905) expanded, Elkins experienced the luxury of [[passenger train]] service. In 1930, 18 passenger trains were arriving and leaving Elkins daily. All passenger service was discontinued in 1958.

Where the view of the new town was most delightful and picturesque, Davis and Elkins each built permanent places of residence, known as [[Graceland (Elkins, West Virginia)|Graceland]] (1893) and [[Halliehurst]] (1890), respectively.{{citation needed|date=March 2016}}

Today, Elkins has an active economic development authority, [[chamber of commerce]], downtown business organization and numerous social, fraternal and service organizations that sponsor annual events like the Mountain State Forest Festival, which brings thousands of people into the city every year.