From The Beginning

Harrison County was created from Monongalia County, Virginia, in 1784 and was named for Benjamin Harrison, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. It is located in the north central section of the state, 120 miles south of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and mid-way between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Washington, D.C.

Clarksburg, the county seat, was originally chartered in 1785. It was named for Gen. George Rogers Clark, a renowned explorer and Indian fighter. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson was born there on January 21, 1824. General Jackson fought for the Confederacy, although Clarksburg was a Union stronghold.

Authorization for the first county courthouse was made in 1787 at a cost of $550. It was located on the corner of Main and 2nd streets. The frame building was constructed on eight stone piers about ten feet high and citizens tied their horses to the pillars while conducting business inside the courthouse.

The second courthouse was a two-story brick building located at the corner of Main (then Market) and 3rd streets, the same site as the present one. It cost $3,700 and was completed in 1811. A large tree trunk served as a whipping post at the rear of this structure.

The third courthouse, built in 1856, was on the same site as the second. It was a two-story brick with a cupola on top and had a wrought-iron balcony over the front entrance.

A three-story red brick courthouse was erected in 1888 at a bid of $46,000. A bell, as well as a clock, were saved from prior courthouses and placed in the tower. When it was only forty-four years old, the citizens opted to replace it with a $750,000 building - the present courthouse. John W. Davis, a native son and presidential nominee in 1924, gave the principal address at the dedication of this courthouse in 1932.