The Pocahontas County Bicentennial Commission announces the official Bicentennial Celebration kick-off to be held Saturday, December 18, 2021, at 2 p.m. at the Old Presbyterian Church in Huntersville. This will be the commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the creation of the county.
“Huntersville was the first county seat and that is where much of our county’s early formation events took place,” said Tim Wade, president of Huntersville Historical Traditions. “We are thrilled to invite visitors and residents to Huntersville to celebrate the significant events that formed Pocahontas County.”
The public is invited to commemorate this historic December 21, 1821 event as a result of which Pocahontas County was created from three Virginia counties and the original County Court (Commission) appointed.
Huntersville Historical Traditions will host a ceremony to include the Virginia and West Virginia resolution readings and proclamations.
“We plan to have descendants of the original petitioners sign a bicentennial proclamation,” Wade added. “Refreshments will be served, and there will be music.”
“One of the most important things that could come out of the year-long celebration of our county’s Bicentennial is to increase our residents’ interest in their own family history and knowledge of our county,” said William McNeel, Bicentennial Commission member, county historian and a descendant of original settlers. “We have many family names in today’s Pocahontas County that go back prior to the 1821 formation of the county.”
In addition to the December 18 commemoration, the regular Pocahontas County Commission meeting will be held Tuesday, December 21, 2021, the official date of the 200th year anniversary.
“The Pocahontas County Commission will present the official Pocahontas County Bicentennial Resolution at the beginning of the 5:30 p.m. meeting, which will be held in the Pocahontas County Courthouse, in Marlinton, now the county seat,” Bicentennial Commission coordinator Cara Rose said. “We are looking forward to a year-long celebration to commemorate our county’s unique history and its people.”
Additional Huntersville events will take place March 5, 2022, May 20, 2022 and September 30/October 1, 2022. Huntersville event sponsors include Citizens Bank of West Virginia, First Energy, Pocahontas County Commission and the Pocahontas County Bicentennial Commission.
“New residents in the county or those with only a generation or two living here, will hopefully gain an increased interest in Pocahontas County history due to the Bicentennial activities over the coming months,” McNeel added.
Visit www.celebratepoca hontas200.com to find out if you are a descendant of one of the original petitioners. Also learn more about the Eight Rivers Bicentennial Trout Art Project, bicentennial event information, history of the county and more.