Formed March 11, 1856 (47th county)
Roane County (14,028), Spencer (2,040)
The Modern tan brick and concrete building was constructed in 1965. There were 1865 and 1887 versions previously. The courthouse is on a square of Main, Church, Market, and Court streets. United States Highway 33 is Main Street in the town. R. L. Wilson and J. D. King are the building designers. It features columns with veteran memorials and a Liberty Bell on the grounds. The county was created on March 11, 1856 from parts of Gilmer, Jackson, Kanawha, and Wirt counties as the 47th county with Spencer as the only county seat. The county is named for Judge Spencer Roane. Spencer is also named for the judge.
Roane County government consists of a sheriff and 3 Commissioners. Three Circuit Court Judges serve Roane, Calhoun, Jackson, and Mason counties and One Family Court Judge and Two Magistrate Court Judges serve Roane, Calhoun, Gilmer, and Ritchie counties. The county is in the western part of the state. Charleston, West Virginia is south and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is northeast of the county. The county center is 5.5 miles South-Southwest of Spencer nearer Speed. The county is surrounded clockwise by Wirt, Calhoun, Clay, Kanawha, and Jackson counties.
The area of the county is 484 square miles. It is 18 out of 55 in the state. It ranks 39 out of 55 in population in the state. It has a density of 29.0 persons per square mile making it 40 out of 55 in the state. Roane County has 15.6% of its population in its incorporated areas. Interstate Highway 79 clips the southern part of the county from Clay County, southeast, to Kanawha County, southwest. United States Highway 33 crosses east to west from Calhoun County to Jackson County. United States Highway 119 is joined with United States Highway 33 from Calhoun County, splits and heads south into Kanawha County. The county looks like a fat capital letter L. Spencer is located in the northern third of the county. Spencer is the county seat and the largest city. It is 14.5% of the county population.
Reedy
Spencer
