Braxton County | |
|---|---|
 The Braxton County Courthouse in Sutton in 2007 | |
 Seal  Logo | |
 Location within the U.S. state of West Virginia | |
 West Virginia's location within the U.S. | |
| Coordinates: 38°42′N 80°44′W / 38.7°N 80.73°W | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  West Virginia |
| Founded | January 15, 1836 |
| Named for | Carter Braxton |
| Seat | Sutton |
| Largest town | Sutton |
| Area | |
• Total | 516.28 sq mi (1,337.2 km2) |
| • Land | 510.74 sq mi (1,322.8 km2) |
| • Water | 5.54 sq mi (14.3 km2) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 12,447 |
• Estimate (2021) | 12,247  |
| • Density | 24.37/sq mi (9.41/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| Congressional district | 1st |
| Website | www |
Braxton County is a county in the central part of the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,447.[1] The county seat is Sutton.[2] The county was formed in 1836[3] from parts of Lewis, Kanawha, and Nicholas counties and named for Carter Braxton, a Virginia statesman and signer of the Declaration of Independence.
In 2010, the center of population of West Virginia was in northern Braxton County.[4]
Important salt works were located at Bulltown and here, in 1772, Captain Bull and his family and friendly Delaware Indians were massacred by frontiersmen.[5] Jesse Hughes helped Jeremiah Carpenter[6] track and kill the Indians responsible for the Carpenter massacre. Jeremiah was a notable fiddle player who wrote a song Shelvin’ Rock about the experience of escaping to rock shelter.
- ^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 23, 2001. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Centers of Population by State: 2010". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved May 11, 2014.
- ^ The Border Settlers of Northwestern Virginia from 1768 to 1795 1915 The Republican Publishing Company Hamilton, OH
- ^ "e-WV | Carpenter Family". West Virginia Encyclopedia. Retrieved December 21, 2020.