Potomac Highlands of West Virginia
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The Potomac Highlands of West Virginia are the root of the Eastern Panhandle, bordering Maryland and Virginia. They comprise the following counties:
Because of geographical proximity and shared culture and history, the Potomac Highlands region is extended to include Pocahontas, Randolph, and Tucker counties, even though they are not within the Potomac River watershed.
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[edit] County information
County | Named For | Founded | Seat |
---|---|---|---|
Grant | Ulysses Simpson Grant | February 14, 1866 | Petersburg |
Hampshire | Hampshire County, England | December 13, 1753 | Romney |
Hardy | Samuel Hardy | December 10, 1785 | Moorefield |
Mineral | minerals located in the county | February 1, 1866 | Keyser |
Pendleton | Edmund Pendleton | December 4, 1787 | Franklin |
Pocahontas | Pocahontas of the Powhatan Native American people | 1821 | Marlinton |
Randolph | Edmund Jennings Randolph | 1787 | Elkins |
Tucker | Henry St. George Tucker, Sr. | 1856 | Parsons |
[edit] Largest cities
City | 2005 (estimate) | 2000 | County |
---|---|---|---|
Elkins | 7,109 | 7,032 | Randolph |
Keyser | 5,410 | 5,303 | Mineral |
Petersburg | 2,634 | 2,423 | Grant |
Moorefield | 2,408 | 2,375 | Hardy |
Romney | 1,975 | 1,940 | Hampshire |
Parsons | 1,400 | 1,463 | Tucker |
Marlinton | 1,247 | 1,204 | Pocahontas |
[edit] Potomac Highlands trivia
- The Potomac Highlands includes West Virginia's oldest town (1762) of Romney.
- The Potomac Highlands also includes West Virginia's oldest county: Hampshire (1753).
- West Virginia's highest elevation above sea level is located in the Potomac Highlands in Pendleton County: Spruce Knob, 4,863 feet (1,482 meters).
- Shortly after West Virginia gained statehood, Mineral and Grant counties were created from Hampshire and Hardy in 1866.
[edit] References
Smith, J. Lawrence, The Potomac Naturalist: The Natural History of the Headwaters of the Historic Potomac (1968), Parsons, West Virginia, McClain Printing Company; ISBN-10: 0870120239; ISBN-13: 978-0870120237
[edit] External links
Potomac River system Cities and towns | Bridges | Islands | Tributaries | Variant names District of Columbia | Maryland | Pennsylvania | Virginia | West Virginia Streams shown as: Major tributaries • subtributaries • (subsubtributaries) • (subsubsubtributaries) |
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Lakes and reservoirs
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Categories: Potomac Highlands geography stubs | Regions of West Virginia | Grant County, West Virginia | Hampshire County, West Virginia | Hardy County, West Virginia | Mineral County, West Virginia | Pendleton County, West Virginia | Pocahontas County, West Virginia | Randolph County, West Virginia | Tucker County, West Virginia