Formed January 19, 1844 (33rd county)
Taylor County (16,701), Grafton (4,727)
The tan and red brick Romanesque Revival courthouse was built in 1880. The county was established on January 19, 1844 from parts of Barbour, Harrison, Marion, and Preston counties as the 33rd county. Williamsport was the first county seat until 1878 when Grafton became the seat. Taylor County is named for Virginia Senator John Taylor. The county seat was named for railroad official John Grafton. The courthouse is on Main Street west of Ethel Street. United States Highway 119 passes in front of the facility. The architect is unknown. The building was enlarged in 1909 and 1924. An Annex was built in 1976.
Taylor County government consists of a sheriff and 3 Commissioners. One Circuit Court Judge, One Family Court Judge and Two Magistrate Court Judges serve Taylor and Barbour counties. The county is located in the northeast part of the state. Charleston, West Virginia is southwest and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is north of the county. The county center is 1.3 miles East of Grafton. The county is surrounded clockwise by Monongalia, Preston, Barbour, Harrison, and Marion counties.
The area of the county is 173 square miles. It is 51 out of 55 in the state. It ranks 35 out of 55 in population in the state. It has a density of 96.5 persons per square mile making it 16 out of 55 in the state. Taylor County has 30.2% of its population in its incorporated areas. United States Highway 50 crosses the county from east to west from Preston County to Harrison County. United States Highway 119 enters from the north, Monongalia County, and exits to the south, Barbour County. United States Highway 250 comes from the northwest, Marion County, and joins United States Highway 119 into Barbour County. The county looks like a flattened letter U. Grafton is located in the southwest quarter of the county. Grafton is the county seat and the largest city. It is 28.3% of the county population. This county is in the Clarksburg Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Flemington
Grafton
