Taylor County

Taylor County is a located in the north-central part of the state and is one of the small counties in the state.

It was formed in 1844 from parts of Harrison, Barbour and Marion counties. It was named in honor of John Taylor, a author and statesman form Virginia.

The development of two rail lines in the county created a lot of the economic growth in the county, as did the mining of coal in the region. The two major rail lines intersected in Grafton, the industry surrounding the railroads made made the town an important transportation hub.

Grafton is the county seat and was chartered in 1856 and named for Jon Grafton, a cvil engineer that was employed by the B & O Railroad. The only National Cemetery in West Virginia is located in Grafton.

The first observance of the Mother's Day was a church service held at Anna Jarvis' request in Grafton on May 10, 1908. It was in Grafton where Mrs. Reese Jarvis, mother of Anna, spent 20 years taking Sunday school classes in Andrews Methodist Church. 

Source: The 55 West Virginias: A guide to the State's Counties, by E. Lee North, Published by The West Virginia University Press., theholidayspot.com

Population: 16,089
Land in square miles: 173
Number of people per square mile: 93.1
More facts from the 2000 Census