Randolph County History

Randolph County, the largest in West Virginia, is situated in the central eastern section of the state. It contains 1,046.34 square miles of land area. 176,230 acres of the Monongahela National Forest lie within the county. Much of the county is forested with northern hardwoods including oak, beech, maple and birch and an elevation above 3.500 feet, spruce and hemlock forest are found.

 Randolph County is mountainous. The surface level varies from 1,750 feet above sea level at Laurel to 4,760 feet above sea level near Harman. Within the county there are twenty knobs over 4,000 feet high. In the center of the county is the relatively broad Tygart Valley. The county is drained by tributaries of the Cheat and Tygart Rivers.

 Highways serving the area include U.S. Routes 33, 219 and 250 and West Virginia state routes 92 and. 55. A section of Appalachian Corridor H has been completed and is proposed to eventually connect Interstate-79 and Interstate-81.

 The Elkins-Randolph County Airport was established in 1959 and consist of two runways which intersect at right angles and are approximately 4,500 feet in length each. There are several taxi services in the Elkins- Randolph County area and the Chessie System provides freight rail service to the area.

 Elkins, the county seat of Randolph County, incorporated in 1890, has been noted as being the medical, commercial, cultural, and educational center for the county. In Elkins there is one hospital and three long-term care facilities with 49 medical doctors and 13 dentist. Within Randolph County there are six local banks and two savings and loan associations.

The downtown shopping district, Tygart Valley Mall and the Elkins Shopping Plaza are shopping centers for the county and surrounding areas with many thriving owner-operated businesses.

Randolph County is a producer of hardwood lumber, furniture, coal, limestone, clothing and agricultural products. For such a rural county, the area did manage an impressive 16.8% growth in population over the decade of the 1970's. The trade and service sectors continue to expand. Lumber and furniture industries continue to be an important part of the local economy.

The most promising new industry for Randolph County is tourism. There are four thriving ski resorts in operation within 42 miles of Elkins and one more in the planning stage. In addition to skiing, the Elkins area which has been called the "Gateway to Monongahela National Forest", attracts cavers, whitewater rafters, hunters, fisherman, rock climbers, hikers, bird watchers and outdoor enthusiasts. With highways leading throuqh unsurpassed mountain scenery, the Elkins area offers easy access to endless recreational possibilities. In April, July/August and again in October, Davis & Elkins College hosts the annual Augusta Heritage arts Workshops and Festival.

During October Elkins becomes the home for the Mountain State Forest Festival, West Virginia’s second largest festival. Combined with the Augusta Festival, these events attract over 200,000 people to the Elkins-Randolph County area each year.

The Randolph County school system has sixteen. schools throughout the county, 72% of which are less than eight years old. Student enrollment is currently in excess of 6,000 students. Davis and Elkins College, a four-year liberal arts college located in Elkins, presently has an enrollment of approximately 700 students. Elkins-Randolph County also has three private and parochial schools and one vocational—technical school.