Beverly
Original County Seat
Nearly two decades after the ill-fated attempt of the Foyles (Files) and Taggert (Tygart) families to pioneer the area in 1754, the Tygarts Valley was finally settled by a group of families in 1772. One of this group, Jacob Westfall Sr., built a fort near the Files home site where Files Creek empties into the Tygarts Valley River. Several log homes built by these early pioneers still survive within existing buildings in the area.
When Randolph County was established in 1787, plans were made for a county seat, to be called Edmundton in honor of the governor, Edmund Jennings Randolph. In 1790, the town was laid out in one-half acre lots on the lands of James Westfall and renamed Beverly, for the new governor, Beverly Randolph.
Beverly developed as the county seat and commercial center of a rich farming valley. With the completion of the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike in 1845, the community prospered, boasting a wide range of products and services. The Beverly-Fairmont Turnpike was completed in 1852, giving access to the new railroad that reached Grafton the same year.
Troops occupied Beverly throughout the Civil War, serving as a staging area for Confederate troops before Rich Mountain, and headquarters for Federal troops afterwards. The town was raided several times during the war, and a number of buildings were destroyed.
After the War, Beverly again prospered, adding many new homes and buildings. Its prosperity was eclipsed by the new railroad boomtown of Elkins in the 1890s, however, and the County Seat was moved to Elkins in 1900.
Marker is on Main Street (U.S. 219), on the right when traveling south.
Courtesy hmdb.org
