Formed March 26, 1851 (43rd county)
Upshur County (23,817), Buckhannon (5,185)
The outstanding Classical Revival courthouse was built in 1901. The county was founded on March 26, 1851 from parts of Randolph, Barbour, and Lewis counties as the 43rd county with Buckhannon as the only county seat. The structure is on Main Street at Locust Street. Locust Street is West Virginia State Highway 20. Harrison Albright is the architect of this red brick structure. The building was remodeled in 1970 and an Annex was added in 1995. The courthouse features a dome and columns. Veteran memorials are on the grounds. Upshur County is named for United States Secretary of State Abel Parker Upshur. The county seat was named for a Native American chief.
Upshur County government consists of a sheriff and 3 Commissioners. Two Circuit Court Judges serve Upshur and Lewis counties and One Family Court Judge and Two Magistrate Court Judges serve Upshur, Braxton, and Lewis counties. Upshur County is in the northern part of the state. Charleston, West Virginia is southwest and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is north of the county. The county center is 8.4 miles South of Buckhannon nearer Adrian. The county is surrounded clockwise by Barbour, Randolph, Webster, Lewis, and Harrison counties.
The area of the county is 355 square miles. It is 35 out of 55 in the state. It ranks 25 out of 55 in population in the state. It has a density of 67.1 persons per square mile making it 21 out of 55 in the state. Upshur County has 21.8% of its population in its incorporated areas. United States Highway 33 passes east to west through the county from Randolph County to Lewis County. United States Highway 119 enters from the north, Barbour County, and joins United States Highway 33 into Lewis County. The county is an overall rectangle. Buckhannon is located in the northern third of the county. Buckhannon is the county seat and the largest city since it is the only incorporated city. It is 21.8% of the county population.
Buckhannon
