Wirt County

Small farms dot the Wirt County landscape.

Located in west central West Virginia, Wirt County was created in 1848 from parts of Jackson and Wood counties.

The largest development the county ever had was following the development of the Burning Springs oil field in 1860. Within a year the town of Burning Springs had 6,000 people living in it. Prosperity for the community was short lived. The town and the oil field was burned by Confederate forces on May 9,1863. Although the county would later see modest growth of the oil and gas industry. Burning Springs never fully recovered from the attack.

Today the area is primarily a county of small farms and villages.

In 2003 the small county was thrust in the national spotlight as the home of Jessica Lynch. Lynch was captured during the Iraq War and eventually freed during a dramatic rescue. Her life was the subject of both a book and made-for-TV movie.

Pfc. Jessica Lynch waves to well-wishers, with her brother Spc. Greg Lynch Jr. at her side, as she rides in a convertible down the main road during her homecoming parade in Elizabeth, W.Va. Tuesday July 22, 2003

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

Population: 5,873
Land in square miles: 233
Number of people per square mile: 25.2
More facts from the 2000 Census