About Webster County
Webster County is in the east central part of the state located northeast of Beckley and about 114 miles southwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was formed in 1860 from parts of Braxton, Nicholas, and Randolph counties. The county is named after Daniel Webster (1782-1852), a New Englander who was famous as an orator, lawyer, member of U.S. Congress (both House of Representatives and Senate), and as U.S. Secretary of State.
It is rural with a present territory of 556 square miles and a population of 9,804. Its county seat and major town is Webster Springs (pop. 808), also known as Addison, located in the center of the county. Other towns are Camden-on-Gauley (pop. 157) and Cowen (pop. 513). Both located in the southern part of the county. The northern part of the county is drained mainly by the Elk River and its tributaries especially the Holly River along which is Holly River State Park. The Gauley River and its tributaries drain the southern part of the county and nearly its total watershed within the county is in the Monongahela National Forest including the Bishop Knob Recreation Area. The county has rail connections.
Major employment is in health care and social assistance, coal mining, manufacturing, and retail. Over one-third of health care and social assistance employment is in ambulatory health care services. Surface coal mine production is over twice that of bituminous underground mining production. Nearly all of manufacturing employment is in sawmills and wood preservation with the county being a member of the West Virginia Hardwood Alliance Zone. Nearly half of the retail employment is in grocery stores. Agriculturally there is some notable production of eggs, but the major products are livestock and forage.
