Editing Grant County, West Virginia (section)

==History==
The territory that became Grant County in 1866 was originally part of [[Hampshire County, West Virginia|Hampshire County]], the oldest county formed within the present boundaries of West Virginia, in 1754. In 1786, Hardy County was formed from the southern portion of Hampshire County. The county's boundaries were relatively stable from 1788 until 1866, when Grant County was formed from the western portion of Hardy. The first counties formed in the state following the admission of West Virginia to the Union were Grant and Mineral in 1866, the latter formed from the western portion of Hampshire County, and thus adjoining Grant. They were the fifty-first and fifty-second counties in West Virginia, and only [[Lincoln County, West Virginia|Lincoln]], [[Summers County, West Virginia|Summers]], and [[Mingo County, West Virginia|Mingo]] were created after them.

Beginning in 1863, West Virginia's counties were divided into [[civil township]]s, with the intention of encouraging local government. This proved impractical in the heavily rural state, and in 1872 the townships were converted into [[minor civil division|magisterial districts]].<ref>Otis K. Rice & Stephen W. Brown, ''West Virginia: A History'', 2nd ed., University Press of Kentucky, Lexington (1993), p. 240.</ref>  Between its establishment and 1870, Grant County was divided into three townships: Grant, Milroy, and Union, which became magisterial districts in 1872.<ref>[[United States Census Bureau]], [[United States Census|U.S. Decennial Census]], Tables of Minor Civil Divisions in West Virginia, 1870–2010.</ref>
[[File:Grant County Bank, Petersburg, WV, Aug 2012.JPG|thumb|left|Grant County Bank, Petersburg]]
Most of the 47 people killed in the [[1985 Election day floods]] were in [[Pendleton County, West Virginia|Pendleton]] and Grant counties, according to the [[National Weather Service]].<ref name=dwhite>West Virginia Gazette: "Remembering the '85 floods" (D. White) November 4, 2010</ref>  At [[Franklin, West Virginia|Franklin]], the [[Pendleton County, West Virginia|Pendleton County]] seat, the South Branch of the [[Potomac River]] crested at 22.6 feet during the incident. Flood stage in the shallow riverbed was only 7 feet.<ref name=dwhite/>