Preston County Courthouse
Frontiers to Mountaineers Heritage Tourism
First settled in 1807, Kingwood was named for the grove of trees located where the courthouse now stands. On January 19, 1818, the Commonwealth of Virginia created Preston as its 35th county. Kingwood from its beginning has served as the territorial and county seat. In 1861, when Virginia voted to secede from the Union, Prestonians indicated in a resolution, read at the courthouse by William G. Brown and James C. McGrew their desire to become a separate state and remain in the Union. West Virginia became a state on June 20, 1863. Preston County led the entire United States in Union patriotism by volunteering the largest percentage of its population to government service during the Civil War. Built in 1930, the current Art Deco style building was constructed of pink sandstone. On the courthouse lawn is a cannon last fired in April 1861 in defense of Fort Sumter. The Preston County Jail, built in 1925, sits just west of the courthouse.
Marker is at the intersection of Main Street (State Highway 7) and Price Street, on the right when traveling east on Main Street.
Courtesy hmdb.org
