Editing Mason County, West Virginia (section)

==Geography==
[[File:US Post Office of Southside, West Virginia.jpg|thumb|Post Office on U.S. Route 35 in Southside, West Virginia]]
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the county has a total area of {{convert|445|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|431|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|14|sqmi}} (3.1%) is water.<ref name="GR1">{{Cite web |date=August 22, 2012 |title=2010 Census Gazetteer Files |url=http://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/counties_list_54.txt |access-date=July 30, 2015 |publisher=United States Census Bureau}}</ref>

===Territorial evolution===
Prior to its establishment in 1804, the land that would become Mason County was part of the vast and largely unorganized territory claimed by Virginia west of the [[Allegheny Mountains|Alleghenies]]. It was attached to various counties beginning with [[Orange County, Virginia|Orange]] in 1734, [[Augusta County, Virginia|Augusta]] in 1738, and [[Botetourt County, Virginia|Botetourt]] in 1770. Beginning in 1772, the portion of Mason County south of the Kanawha River was part of [[Fincastle County, Virginia|Fincastle County]], the West Virginia portion of which became [[Monroe County, West Virginia|Monroe County]] in 1777. The remaining West Virginia portion of Botetourt County, including the northern part of present-day Mason County, became [[Greenbrier County, West Virginia|Greenbrier County]] in 1778. In 1789, the western portions of Greenbrier and Monroe Counties, extending to the Ohio and [[Big Sandy River (Ohio River tributary)|Big Sandy]] Rivers, were combined to form [[Kanawha County, West Virginia|Kanawha County]].<ref name="Doran">Michael F. Doran, ''Atlas of County Boundary Changes in Virginia, 1634–1895'', Iberian Publishing Company, Athens, Georgia (c. 1987).</ref>

Mason County was separated from Kanawha County in 1804, including all of its current territory, as well as portions of what are now [[Jackson County, West Virginia|Jackson]], [[Putnam County, West Virginia|Putnam]], and [[Roane County, West Virginia|Roane]] Counties. The northern and western boundaries were formed by the Ohio River, and the county's southwestern boundary, originally with Kanawha County, and now with [[Cabell County, West Virginia|Cabell]], remains unchanged. Until 1831, Mason County shared a boundary with [[Wood County, West Virginia|Wood County]], running southeasterly from the Ohio River north of [[Ravenswood, West Virginia|Ravenswood]] to the northwestern boundary of Kanawha County, thence in a southwesterly direction to the present border with Cabell County. The formation of Jackson County in 1831 from portions of Mason, Wood, and Kanawha Counties removed the eastern portion of Mason County, including the part now in Roane County, while the formation of Putnam County from portions of Mason, Cabell, and Kanawha Counties in 1848 removed the southeastern portion of the county. This was the last major change{{efn-lr|Minor adjustments have occurred since 1848, including in 1866, when a small portion of eastern Mason County was attached to Jackson County.}} to Mason County's boundaries.<ref name="Doran" />

After West Virginia gained its independence from Virginia in 1863, the state's counties were divided into [[civil township]]s, with the goal of placing authority in the hands of local governments.<ref name="Rice WV">Otis K. Rice & Stephen W. Brown, ''West Virginia: A History'', 2nd ed., University Press of Kentucky, Lexington (1993), p. 240.</ref>  Mason County was divided into ten townships, each of which was named after a pioneer settler{{efn-lr|Two of the townships were soon renamed: Lemaster Township became Cologne, and Van Bibber Township became Union.}} of Mason County.<ref name="Hardesty's Townships">"Division of the County into Townships", in ''Hardesty's Biographical Atlas of Mason County, West Virginia'', H.H. Hardesty & Co., New York, Toledo, and Chicago (1882).</ref>  However, township government proved impractical across the heavily rural state, with citizens unable to meet on a regular basis, and inadequate tax revenue to meet township responsibilities.<ref name="Rice WV" />  Following the adoption of the [[Constitution of West Virginia]] in 1872, the townships were converted into [[minor civil division|magisterial districts]], and the county courts (later [[county commission]]s) empowered to establish, consolidate, or otherwise modify them.<ref name="Hardesty's Townships" /><ref name="WVC 7 2 2">W. Va. Code § 7–2–2.</ref>

===Major highways===
*[[Image:US 35.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Route 35#West Virginia|U.S. Route 35]]
*[[Image:WV-2.svg|20px]] [[West Virginia Route 2]]
*[[Image:WV-62.svg|20px]] [[West Virginia Route 62]]
*[[Image:WV-87.svg|20px]] [[West Virginia Route 87]]
*[[Image:WV-817.svg|20px]] [[West Virginia Route 817]]

===Adjacent counties===
*[[Meigs County, Ohio]] (north)
*[[Jackson County, West Virginia|Jackson County]] (east)
*[[Putnam County, West Virginia|Putnam County]] (southeast)
*[[Cabell County, West Virginia|Cabell County]] (southwest)
*[[Gallia County, Ohio]] (west)

===National protected area===
*[[Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge]] (part)