Editing Taylor County, West Virginia (section)

==History==
This area was populated by the [[Adena culture]] in the [[Pre-Columbian]] [[Woodland period]] of the [[Native Americans in the United States]].

Some of the first Europeans to visit the area are thought to have been [[British Army]] [[deserter]]s from [[Fort Pitt (Pennsylvania)|Fort Pitt]], who reportedly fled their post in 1761 during the [[French and Indian War]] and roamed northwestern Virginia for several years thereafter. A European trader with the [[Hudson's Bay Company]] reportedly set foot in these lands as early as 1764.<ref name="polsci.wvu.edu">["Early History of Taylor County," West Virginia University {{Cite web |title=Early History of Taylor County |url=http://www.polsci.wvu.edu/wv/Taylor/tayhistory.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120805115721/http://www.polsci.wvu.edu/wv/Taylor/tayhistory.html |archive-date=August 5, 2012 |access-date=May 8, 2010}}]</ref>

[[Pruntytown, West Virginia|Pruntytown]] is the oldest (''ca.'' 1798) known white settlement in what is now Taylor County. Initially known as Cross Roads, on January 1, 1801, it was renamed Williamsport in honor of Abraham Williams, a longtime resident. The name was changed again on January 23, 1845, to honor pioneer settler John Prunty, Sr (1745-1823) and son David. This town served as the [[county seat]] of government from the county's founding in 1844 until a county election in 1878 moved that honor to [[Grafton, West Virginia]].<ref name="polsci.wvu.edu" />

The county was established by the [[Virginia General Assembly]] on January 19, 1844. It was formed out of parts of [[Barbour County, West Virginia|Barbour]], [[Harrison County, West Virginia|Harrison]], and [[Marion County, West Virginia|Marion]] counties in [[Virginia]]. Most historians think the county was named after [[John Taylor of Caroline|John Taylor (1753-1824)]] of [[Caroline County, Virginia]], while a minority believe it was named after [[Zachary Taylor]].<ref name="polsci.wvu.edu" /> Fifteen justices were appointed by Governor [[James McDowell]] to organize the newly formed county: John Asbury, Frederick Burdett, Dr. Joseph L. Carr, John Cather, John A. Guseman, Nathan Hall, Calder Haymond, Absalom Knotts, John Leeper, Charles W. Newlon, Jonathan Poe, Robert Reed, Joshua A. Robinson, William A. Rogers, and Benjamin Sinclair.

On June 20, 1863, at the height of the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], Taylor was one of fifty Virginia counties that were admitted to the Union as the state of West Virginia. Later that year, the 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>  Taylor County was initially divided into nine townships: Booths Creek,{{efn-lr|Spelled "Booth's Creek" before 1890.}} Clay, Court House, Fetterman, Flemington, Grafton, Haymond, Union, and Webster. Grafton Township was co-extensive with the town of Grafton.<ref name="Census Bureau MCD">[[United States Census Bureau]], [[United States Census|U.S. Decennial Census]], Tables of Minor Civil Divisions in West Virginia, 1870–2010.</ref>

In 1871, Union Township was annexed by Grafton Township; the following year, Clay and Webster Townships were annexed by Court House Township, Haymond was annexed by Fetterman, and the five remaining townships were converted to magisterial districts. In the 1880s, Knottsville District was created from the part of Grafton District that lay outside the town of Grafton. Except for minor adjustments, the six historic districts remained largely unchanged for the next ninety years, until in the 1970s they were consolidated into three new magisterial districts: Central, Eastern, and Western. In the 1990s, Central District was renamed, becoming Tygart.<ref name="Census Bureau MCD" />

The [[West Virginia Equal Suffrage Association]] was founded in November 1895 at the Taylor County Courthouse<ref>{{Cite news |last=Anthony |first=Susan B. |last2=Avery |first2=Rachel Foster |last3=Catt |first3=Carrie Chapman |date=November 20, 1895 |title=Woman Suffrage, A State Convention Called for Grafton, on the 25th and 26th Inst. |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86092518/1895-11-20/ed-1/seq-5/ |access-date=May 2, 2020 |work=Wheeling [W.Va.] Register |publisher=Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Lib. of Congress}}</ref> after a meeting called by leaders of the [[National American Woman Suffrage Association]].
 
[[Anna Jarvis]], the founder of the [[Mother's Day]], was a native of Taylor County, which is now home to the [[International Mother's Day Shrine]].