A Preston County community
Brandonville’s history follows its laying out and incorporation, the roads that connected it to neighboring communities and regional markets, and later civic, industrial, and frontier-history threads. Its timeline preserves both early town history and the limits of the evidence behind several traditions.
This overview draws on the connected timeline entries and the checked National Archives postal index. Follow the links below for sources and research qualifications.Community timeline
By 1774
By 1774, settlers in the future Preston County relied on two small stockade refuges during periods of frontier violence. Fort Morris stood on Richard Morris's land near present-day Brandonville, while Fort Butler stood at the…
Open event and sources1818
By 1818, the National Road connected Cumberland, Maryland, with Wheeling, Virginia, through southwestern Pennsylvania. Although it passed north of Preston County, its traffic created nearby markets for the county’s farmers and…
Open event and sources1827
Local community history says Colonel Jonathan Brandon laid out the town in 1827 and gave Brandonville its name. This town-layout date predates the Virginia incorporation acts recorded for 1837 and 1858.
Open event and sourcesFebruary 11, 1835
The Virginia General Assembly adopted a joint resolution authorizing the survey for a road from the Maryland state line near Smithfield, PA, to Brandonville in Preston County, to intersect the Northwestern Turnpike at or west…
Open event and sourcesMarch 15, 1836
The Virginia General Assembly passed an act providing for the construction of a road from the Ohio River at the mouth of Fishing Creek in Tyler County, to Morgantown, to Brandonville in Preston County, to the Maryland state…
Open event and sourcesMarch 13, 1837
The Virginia General Assembly passed an act which incorporated the Brandonville, Kingwood and Evansville Turnpike Company to construct a road from the Pennsylvania state line in Preston County, to Brandonville and Kingwood, to…
Open event and sourcesFebruary 14, 1838
The Virginia General Assembly passed an act further providing for the completion of the road from the Ohio River at the mouth of Fishing Creek in Tyler County, to Morgantown, to Brandonville in Preston County, to the…
Open event and sourcesApril 7, 1838
The Virginia General Assembly passed an act providing for the construction of a road from Brandonville, to Kingwood, to intersect the Northwestern Turnpike near Evansville, all in Preston County, under the superintendence of…
Open event and sourcesMarch 30, 1839
The Virginia General Assembly passed an act providing for the completion of the road from the mouth of Fishing Creek in Tyler County, to Morgantown, to Brandonville in Preston County, to the Pennsylvania state line.
Open event and sourcesJanuary 15, 1848
The Virginia General Assembly passed an act which incorporated the Cheat River Tollbridge Company to construct a toll bridge across the Cheat River where it crossed the Brandonville, Kingwood, and Evansville Road. Subscription…
Open event and sources1851
Morton reports a petition to divide Preston County along Cheat River, with the eastern county seat proposed at Brandonville.
Open event and sourcesFebruary 10, 1853
The Virginia General Assembly passed an act which incorporated the Cranberry Summit and Brandonville Turnpike Company to construct a road from the Cranberry Summit on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad to intersect the Maryland…
Open event and sourcesFebruary 24, 1858
The Virginia General Assembly passed another incorporation act for Brandonville, following an earlier act approved in 1837.
Open event and sourcesMarch 2, 1864
The West Virginia Central Railway Company was incorporated in West Virginia by the following: James H. Brown; Frederick Walker; John Slack, Sr.; Sydney M. Campbell; John R. McCutchen; Ellis Hyre; William Waggy; John Bowyer;…
Open event and sourcesFebruary 28, 1866
The governor approved an act extending the corporate limits of Brandonville, Preston County.
Open event and sourcesFebruary 22, 1869
The governor approved an act establishing a school district within the town of Brandonville, Preston County.
Open event and sourcesJune 26, 1885
The Union Cemetery Association of Grant District was incorporated in West Virginia by the following: Jeremiah Guthrie, David K. Harshbarger, David Frankhouse, Jonas Frankhouser, and Lindley H. Frankhouser, all of Brandonville,…
Open event and sourcesSeptember 29, 1886
The Bank of Kingwood was incorporated in West Virginia by the following: Smith Crane, John M. Crane, Frances Herrmans, Charles McBishop, William G. Brown, James H. Carroll, James W. Parks, Julia E. Byrne, M. Ella Morris,…
Open event and sources1886
Morton says the last distillery in Preston County, located near Brandonville, burned in 1886 with an estimated loss of $4,000.
Open event and sourcesPeople counted within the town boundary at each census. These are town totals; surrounding magisterial districts are separate areas.
| Census year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1910 | 90 |
| 1920 | 67 |
| 1930 | 82 |
| 1940 | 113 |
| 1950 | 100 |
| 1960 | 109 |
| 1970 | 82 |
U.S. Census, 1930, Population, Volume I, West Virginia, Table 4, printed page 1170 (PDF page 118). View the census table ↗
1940 counts: 1940 Census, Population, Volume I, West Virginia, Table 4, printed page 1150 (PDF page 133), also checked against the 1940 column in the 1950 report. View the 1940 census table
1950 counts: 1950 Census, Number of Inhabitants, West Virginia, Table 7, printed pages 48-12–48-13 (PDF pages 12–13), checked against Table 6, page 48-11. View the 1950 town totals
1960 counts: 1960 Census, Number of Inhabitants, West Virginia, Table 8, printed pages 50-14–50-15 (PDF pages 14–15), checked against the 1960 column in the 1970 report. View the 1960 town totals
1970 counts: 1970 Census, Number of Inhabitants, West Virginia, Table 6, printed pages 50-11–50-12 (PDF pages 11–12), checked against Table 10, page 50-18. View the 1970 town totals
Town boundaries can change between censuses, so changes in these counts do not necessarily represent growth within a fixed area.
Explore Preston County’s population history →Eight indexed images include questionnaires, maps, correspondence, and a 1942 location form. They document Brandonville in relation to Big Sandy Creek, the Cheat River, Bruceton Mills, and the state line.
Explore all 8 postal recordsRecord dates are not necessarily office opening or closing dates. Applications and proposed moves retain their original qualifications.
National Archives · M1126, roll 651 · NARA pages 356, 357, 358, 359, 360, 361, 362, 363. View the original collection.