Editing Mineral County, West Virginia (section)

==History==

===Ancient history===
{{More citations needed|date=June 2014}}
[[Indigenous peoples]] lived throughout the highlands along rivers in this area for thousands of years. [[Archeologists]] have identified artifacts of the [[Adena culture]], dating from 1000 BC to 200 BC. They were among the several early Native American cultures who built major [[Earthworks (archaeology)|earthwork mounds]] for ceremonial and burial use. Remnants of their culture have been found throughout West Virginia. They were followed by other indigenous peoples.

With the growth of fur trading to the north after European encounter in the coastal areas, the nations of the ''[[Haudenosaunee]]'' (or Iroquois Confederacy), based in present-day New York, moved into the Ohio Valley in search of new hunting grounds. By the 17th century they had conquered other tribes, pushed them out to the west, and preserved the area for hunting.

===1863 to present===
It was not until after West Virginia became a state in 1863 that present-day Mineral County was organized. It was created in 1866 by an Act of the West Virginia Legislature from the existing [[Hampshire County, West Virginia|Hampshire County]]. The name was selected due to its reserves of minerals, especially [[coal]] - although coal, a type of sedimentary rock, is not a mineral because it does not have a crystalline structure.

The seminal point in the creation of the county was the arrival of the main line of the [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad]] in 1842. The county seat of Keyser was named for an executive of the railroad.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | title=Mineral County | encyclopedia=The West Virginia Encyclopedia | publisher=West Virginia Humanities Council | access-date=August 30, 2016 | author=Canfield, Jack | url=http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1801}}</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> After its formation in 1866, Mineral County was divided into seven townships: Cabin Run, Elk,{{efn-lr|Also called "Elk Garden" in early records.}} Frankfort, Mill Creek, New Creek, Piedmont, and Welton. Mill Creek Township was returned to Hampshire County in 1871, and in 1872 the six remaining townships became magisterial districts. Except for minor adjustments, they remained relatively unchanged until the 1980s, when they were consolidated into three new districts: District 1, District 2, and District 3.<ref>[[United States Census Bureau]], [[United States Census|U.S. Decennial Census]], Tables of Minor Civil Divisions in West Virginia, 1870–2010.</ref>