Editing Doddridge County, West Virginia (section)

===Oil and gas boom===
Doddridge County's oil and gas industry was an enormous boon to residents. The county's first oil pool, at [[Center Point, West Virginia|Center Point]], was discovered ("brought in" as it was then termed) and drilled in 1892. This was an extension of the technology and boom of the western Pennsylvania oil and gas fields into Tyler and Doddridge Counties. Many farm owners, and sons of farm owners, split their time between their farmwork and the petroleum operations. Almost every local farm benefited from this as free gas was piped to the farmhouses of many landowners. Gas was soon used for heating, lighting, and cooking, which replaced the wood stoves, kerosene and candles of previous generations. By 1906, the Ideal Glass Factory opened to take advantage of the abundant natural gas. It was followed by the Doddridge County Window Glass Company. The two plants employed about 300 people. In later years a garment factory opened, but closed in the mid-1990s.

A long-remembered flood devastated West Union in June 1950, destroying homes and businesses and killing more than 20 people throughout the county. (One casualty was the 107-year-old covered bridge.)

Today farming, timbering, oil and gas, and the business of county government and public education support the area, and many people commute to jobs in Salem, Clarksburg, and Parkersburg, or to the North Central Regional Jail in Greenwood.<ref name="e-WV" />

The [[Lathrop Russell Charter House]], [[Doddridge County Courthouse]], [[Silas P. Smith Opera House]], and [[W. Scott Stuart House]] are individually listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2009a}}</ref>  West Union is also home to two nationally recognized [[Historic district (United States)|historic districts]]: [[West Union Downtown Historic District]] and [[West Union Residential Historic District]].