Taylor County came into being in 1844 from portions of Marion, Barbour and Harrison Counties. Since 1878, Grafton has been the County Seat. Prior to that, the seat was Pruntytown, which has also been known as Williamsport and Cross Roads. Pruntytown is just a few miles west of Grafton. There is some question as to the county's name. Most believe it was named for John Taylor of Caroline, a member of the Virginia House of Delegates and a U.S. Senator from Virginia. Others hold out for Zachary Taylor as the namesake, although I find this problematic as he had little/no connection with Virginia, and was only elected President after Taylor County was created.
The Taylor County Courthouse, Grafton, West Virginia
Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church, Grafton, West Virginia
The International Mother's Day Shrine
At 176 square miles in size, Taylor County is one of the smaller of West Virginia's fifty-five counties. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, 16,089 people called it home, a figure that is up from the 2000 Census, but down from the County's high of 19,919 recorded in the 1940 Census. One of the County's most prominent residents was Anna Marie Jarvis, born in 1864 in Webster, and raised in Grafton. In 1907, two years after her mother's death, Anna Jarvis got her church, the Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church, to celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday in May. From that beginning grew the annual celebration we all know as Mother's Day. Today Andrews Church is known as the International Mother's Day Shrine.
The Haymond United Methodist Church
North of Grafton, West Virginia
Less than one-third of Taylor County's residents report any affiliation with a church, but of those who do, thirty-five percent belong to the United Methodist Church which has seventeen congregations in the county. The Haymond UMC, located on U.S. Highway 119 north of Grafton, is one of those seventeen.
The Tygart Valley River
Valley Falls State Park
Valley Falls State Park
Valley Falls State Park
Tygart Dam
Tygart Lake State Park
Tygart Lake State Park
Tygart Lake State Park
Tygart Dam
The Tygart River Dam, built by the Public Works Administration for flood control purposes, spans 1,921 feet and is 209 feet thick at its base. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers owns and manages the dam itself, but its reservoir is known as Tygart Lake, a West Virginia State Park. The dam is located 2 1/4 miles south of Grafton.
U.S. Highway 50
Western Taylor County, West Virginia
No comments:
Post a Comment