History: County Seat War
The nearby town of St. George
Monongahela National
Forest
Encompassing close to 900,000
multi-use public access acres,
the National Forest offers many
high mountain, outdoor recre-
ational opportunities including
hiking, mountain biking, camp-
ing, great trout fishing, rock
climbing, whitewater rafting,
birding, horseback riding, hunt-
ing and much more!
Dolly Sods Wilderness
Situated on a high-mountain,
windswept plateau overlook-
ing the Alleghenies, this unique
area provides the opportunity
to explore conditions normally
found much farther to the
north.
Otter Creek Wilderness
Forty-two miles of primitive
hiking trails that follow old
railroad grades can be accessed
from Rt. 72 near the Dry Fork
River. A wonderful place for
wildlife watching, hiking, bird
watching, backpacking, trout
fishing and primitive camping.
had been the county seat since
the formation of the county in
1856, but St. George did not
lie near the route of the new
railroad. An election was held
in 1893 in which the new town
of Parsons received the vote for
the county seat. But the county
clerk and an attorney of St.
George filed injunction proceed-
ings to prevent the removal of
the records. The Parsons fac-
tion, already incensed by the
legal delay, took the bit between
their teeth and made arrange-
ments for a wagon train to go On August 7, an armed force of
to St. George, five miles away, about seven hundred men from
and remove the safes and the the vicinity of Parsons, aug-
records. mented by a force of four hun-
dred which had been brought in
by train from other points along
the railroad, started for St.
George. The St. George pickets
saw them coming, put off some
dynamite as a signal of the en-
emy's approach, and then beat
a hasty retreat. The marchers
and the wagons moved into St.
George, loaded the records and
safes, and marched out again.
The next day the conquerors
marched into Parsons, unloaded
the county records at a tempo-
rary courthouse, and the fight
was won.
Blackwater Falls
State Park
The Blackwater River cascades
nearly six stories into the spec-
tacular Blackwater Canyon.
Canaan Valley Resort
State Park
This resort state park is known
for its dynamic winter sports
playground. Fantastic downhill
and cross-country skiing, and a
full winter recreation calendar
make a winter visit here an
extravaganza!
Visit Historic Nearby Attractions:
It’s easy for visitors to forget
Parsons, WV about the hustle and bustle of
the daily grind in a place where
state parks outnumber the traf-
fic lights four to one. The north-
ern reaches of the 900,000 acre
Monongahela National Forest
offer guests ample opportunity
to quench their thirst for adven-
ture with miles of trails
and endless recreation
opportunities.
For More Information,
Call:
304-555-5555
or email:
visitParsons@ifYouWantTo.com
Credits: Text from: Wikipedia, http://www.
canaanvalley.org/ Photos from CC licensed by
flickr users (in page order) OZinOH, fiction-pa-
rade, ambergris chanchan222, rmcgervey, Jason
Means, jmd41280. County Seat War Content &
Photos copyright WV State Archive.
The town of Parsons is the
county seat of Tucker County,
West Virginia, in the United
States. The town was named
for Ward Parsons, having once
owned the land on which the
town was built.