Editing Harrison County, West Virginia (section)

===18th century===
White trappers visited the area that is now Harrison County as early as the 1760s. Some traded with the Native Americans there. The Virginia Colony claimed the area as part of its vast [[Augusta County, Virginia|Augusta County]]. The first permanent settler in the area was hunter and trapper John Simpson, who erected a cabin at the mouth of [[Elk Creek (West Virginia)|Elk Creek]] on the [[West Fork River]] in 1763 or '64.<ref>[[Alexander Scott Withers|Withers, Alexander Scott]] (1831), [https://books.google.com/books?id=_bNXAAAAcAAJ&q=Simpson&pg=PA207 ''Chronicles of Border Warfare, or, A History of the Settlement by the Whites, of north-western Virginia: and of the Indian wars and massacres, in that section of the state; with reflections, anecdotes, &c.''], [[Clarksburg, West Virginia|Clarksburg, Va.]]: J. Israel, p. 90.</ref><ref>''[[Hardesty's Historical and Geographical Encyclopedia]]''; "Special Virginia Edition" (1883-84; originally in 13 vols); reprinted in 1974 in [[Jim Comstock|Comstock, Jim]] (editor), ''West Virginia Heritage Encyclopedia''; 51 vol. [Exclusive run of 3,000 sets; never reprinted] (1974-1976). Supplemental series, Vol 6., Chapter I ("Harrison County"), pp. 10-11.</ref> Simpson's name remains on "[[Simpson Creek (West Virginia)|Simpson's Creek]]" (its mouth is about 9 miles downstream from present Clarksburg).<ref>{{cite book|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015009099824;view=1up;seq=605;size=125|title=West Virginia Place Names: Their Origin and Meaning, Including the Nomenclature of the Streams and Mountains|publisher=The Place Name Press|author=Kenny, Hamill|year=1945|location=Piedmont WV|page=579}}</ref> Settler Daniel Davisson (1748–1819), from New Jersey,<ref>Zimmerman, Diane (2017), [http://www.wvhcgs.com/davissonpart3.htm ''The Davissons: A Founding Family of Harrison County, WV'']; (Part III: Six Generations); Harrison County Genealogical Society</ref> claimed the land upon which present-day Clarksburg, Harrison County, was formed in 1773;<ref>"...&nbsp;Daniel Davisson (1748-1819), was the proprietor of the city of Clarksburg, West Virginia ...": Hess, Alice Jo (1978), [https://books.google.com/books?id=-RYgAQAAMAAJ&q=Daniel+Davisson+(1748-1819) ''History of Medicine in Harrison County, West Virginia'']; Harrison County Medical Society, p. 550.</ref> the area was re-designated as part of [[Monongalia County, West Virginia|Monongalia County, Virginia]] three years later. Simpson's story did not end well. According to a 19th-century local historian, he ...

<blockquote>... continued to hunt and trap for a year without encountering any other human being. In 1765, he went to the [[South Branch Potomac River|South Branch]] to dispose of a stock of skins and furs, and returning to his camp, remained until permanent settlements were made in the vicinity. ... Simpson's cabin was located about one mile from Clarksburg, on the west side of the West Fork River ... Simpson became indebted to a man named Cottrial<ref>This incident occurred sometime around 1779-1781. The Mr. Cottrial, or Cotrill, in question was one of two brothers who both died around that time: Andrew Cotrill, Jr (1736-c. 1781) and Samuel Cotrill (1740-1779). See: Haymond, Henry (1910), [https://archive.org/details/historyharrison00haymgoog <!-- quote=andrew cottril was one. --> ''History of Harrison County, West Virginia: From the Early Days of Northwestern Virginia to the Present'']; Morgantown WV: Acme Publishing Co., p. 384.</ref> to the amount of "one quart of salt" (a precious article at the time), which he agreed to pay, either in money or salt, upon his return from [[Winchester, Virginia|Winchester]], whither he was going to dispose of a stock of skins and furs. Upon his return, a dispute arose between them, regarding the payment, and Cottrial, in the heat of passion, hastened from the house, and grasping Daniel Davisson's gun, which stood leaning against the cabin, took aim through the space between the logs, and attempted to shoot Simpson. The latter, however, was too quick for him, and springing outside, grasped the gun from Cottrial's hands and killed him. This was the first tragedy of this nature in the vicinity.<ref>''Hardesty's Historical and Geographical Encyclopedia'' (1883-84), ''[[Op. cit.]]'', pp. 10-11.</ref></blockquote>

Harrison County was organized in 1784 with territory partitioned from [[Monongalia County, West Virginia|Monongalia County]]. It was named after [[Benjamin Harrison V]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wvculture.org/history/counties/harrison.html|title=Harrison County history sources|access-date=January 29, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130408030234/http://www.wvculture.org/history/counties/harrison.html|archive-date=April 8, 2013}}</ref> who had recently retired as the Governor of Virginia. He was the father of [[William Henry Harrison]], the 9th [[President of the United States]] and great-grandfather of [[Benjamin Harrison]], the 23rd President of the United States. Over the next 72 years, eight present-day West Virginia counties and parts of ten others were formed from this original Harrison County.<ref>Some of these counties left Harrison County by way of intermediate county names. Former Harrison County now includes: (1) all of present day Barbour (1843; via Randolph and Lewis also), Gilmer (1845), Harrison, Lewis (1816), Randolph (1787), Ritchie (1843; parts via Lewis and Wood also), Upshur (1851; via Lewis), and Wood (1798) Counties; and (2) parts of Braxton (1836; via Lewis), Calhoun (1856; via Gilmer), Doddridge (1845; via Lewis and Ritchie also), Marion (1842), Pleasants (1851; via Wood), Pocahontas (1821; via Randolph), Tucker (1856; via Randolph), Taylor (1844; via Marion and Barbour also), Webster (1860; via Braxton and Randolph), and Wirt (1848; via Wood) Counties. ([http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~george/countyformations/virginiaformationmaps.html "History of County Formations in Virginia, 1617-1995"])</ref>

The first meeting of the Harrison County court was held on July 20, 1784, at the home of George Jackson. The group designated the county seat as [[Clarksburg, West Virginia|Clarksburg]]. The town, named for explorer General [[George Rogers Clark]] (1752–1818), was chartered by the [[Virginia General Assembly]] in October 1785, and it was incorporated in 1795.<ref>Haymond, Henry (1910), ''[https://archive.org/details/historyharrison00haymgoog/page/n17 <!-- pg=1 quote=reign of King George. --> History of Harrison County, West Virginia: From the Early Days of Northwestern Virginia to the Present]''; [[Morgantown, West Virginia]]: Acme Publishing Company; 245 ''[[wikt:ff.|ff.]]''</ref>