Editing Hancock County, West Virginia (section)

==History==
Hancock County was formed from Brooke County in 1848, some 15 years before West Virginia became a state. Both counties were once part of Ohio County, Virginia, which had been formed from the [[District of West Augusta]] in 1776. Hancock County has significant Revolutionary-period roots due to its location on the Ohio River south of [[Fort Pitt (Pennsylvania)|Fort Pitt]] in [[Pittsburgh]] and north of [[Fort Henry (West Virginia)|Fort Henry]] in [[Wheeling, West Virginia|Wheeling]].

Hancock County was the site of the infamous massacre of Iroquois leader [[Logan (Iroquois leader)|Chief Logan's]] family in 1774, at Baker's Tavern across the Ohio River from the mouth of Yellow Creek. The event, known as the [[Yellow Creek massacre]], sparked [[Lord Dunmore's War]]. Adam Poe had his famous fight with the Indian known as Big Foot at the mouth of Tomlinson Run in 1781. Historical markers commemorate both events. Significant Revolutionary War forts and blockhouses in Hancock County included Holliday's Cove Fort in downtown Weirton and Chapman's Blockhouse in New Cumberland.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nogay, Michael Edward |title=Every Home a Fort, Every Man a Warrior |publisher=Tri-State Publishing Co. |year=2009}}</ref>

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>  Hancock County was divided into four districts: Butler, Clay, Grant, and Poe. Poe, the least populous district, was discontinued in the 1920s.<ref>[[United States Census Bureau]], [[United States Census|U.S. Decennial Census]], Tables of Minor Civil Divisions in West Virginia, 1870–2010.</ref>