Editing Ansted, West Virginia (section)

===Native Americans, European settlers, Fayette County===
The area of what is now southern West Virginia was long a hunting ground for nomadic tribes of [[Native Americans in the United States|Native-American]]s before the arrival of Europeans in the 17th century. Around 1790, the area now known as Ansted was settled by a group of Baptists who did not hold legal title to the land. These people were known as "squatters", and built the Hopewell Baptist Church nearby. In 1792, a 400-acre (1.6&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) tract of land in the area was patented to Charles Skaggs.

Named in honor of the [[Marquis de la Fayette]], a major hero of the [[American Revolutionary War]], [[Fayette County, West Virginia|Fayette County]], [[Virginia]] was created in 1831. The first county court was held that same year at [[Miles Manser]]'s general store which stood nearby Ansted's current location along the [[James River and Kanawha Turnpike]], an early roadway built to connect the canals on the [[James River (Virginia)|James]] and [[Kanawha River]]s. The area was known at that time as Mountain Cove. At various times, it has also been known as Woodville, New Haven, and Westlake.