Webster County is a county in West Virginia, United States, in the mountainous interior of the state along the Elk and Gauley rivers. It had a population of 8,378 at the 2020 census and covers 556 square miles (1,440 km2), of which 553 square miles is land and 2.8 square miles is water, centred near 38\u00b029\u2032N 80\u00b026\u2032W.<\/p>\n
Webster Springs is the county seat, legally chartered as the Town of Addison, and its postal code is 26288. The county has three incorporated towns, two census-designated places, and dozens of unincorporated communities scattered through the Monongahela National Forest backcountry. Webster County sits in the Eastern time zone; its FIPS code is 54101.<\/p>\n
Webster County has three incorporated towns (Webster Springs, Cowen, and Camden-on-Gauley), two Census Bureau-designated places (Bergoo and Parcoal), and a long list of unincorporated crossroads and former logging and coal camps. Most of the smaller places below have no municipal government of their own; they are grouped here as Unincorp.<\/p>\n
| Place<\/th>\n | Type<\/th>\n | Pop.<\/th>\n | ZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webster Springs<\/td>\n | Town · seat<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 26288<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Cowen<\/td>\n | Town<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 26206<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Camden-on-Gauley<\/td>\n | Town<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 26208<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Bergoo<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 26206<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Parcoal<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Arcola<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Bernardstown<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Big Run<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Boggs<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Bois<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Bolair<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Chapman<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Cherry Falls<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Cleveland<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Curtin<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Diana<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 26275<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Dogway<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Donaldson<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Dorrtown<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Dyer<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Erbacon<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 26203<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Excelsior<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Fishers Crossing<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Gauley Mills<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Glade View<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Guardian<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Hacker Valley<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 26222<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Halo<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Hodam<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Jerryville<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Jumbo<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Kovan<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Orndoff<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Poling<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Pugh<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Ralph<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Replete<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Skelt<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Skidmore Crossing<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Strouds<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Upperglade<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Wainville<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Waneta<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Weese<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Welch Glade<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Wheeler<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Woodzell<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n Addison is the legal name of the Town of Webster Springs’ charter, so old county records sometimes list the seat as “Addison” rather than Webster Springs \u2014 the two names refer to the same place. Camden-on-Gauley is occasionally written as one word (“Camdenongauley”) on older maps; both forms refer to the same town on WV Route 20.<\/p>\n ZIP Codes<\/h2>\nMost of the county’s smaller unincorporated communities share the ZIP code of their nearest post office town rather than having their own.<\/p>\n Geography<\/h2>\nWebster County lies in the Allegheny Plateau, drained by the Elk River in the south and the Gauley River in the north; much of its eastern half sits inside the Monongahela National Forest. Terrain is steep and heavily forested, with narrow river valleys holding most of the settlement. The county borders Lewis County to the northwest, Upshur County<\/a> to the north, Randolph County<\/a> to the northeast, Pocahontas County<\/a> to the east, Greenbrier County<\/a> to the south, Nicholas County<\/a> to the southwest, and Braxton County<\/a> to the west. Lewis County has no verified live sibling page and is named without a link.<\/p>\n Webster County’s population was 8,378 at the 2020 census, down from a peak of roughly 18,080 in 1940 as coal and timber employment declined. Webster Springs and Cowen are the county’s two largest communities. Median household income runs well below the West Virginia median of $55,948, itself the lowest state figure in the country \u2014 Webster is one of the state’s lower-income counties. Population density is about 15 people per square mile, among the sparsest in West Virginia.<\/p>\n Historically a timber and coal county, Webster County’s economy today centers on forestry, small-scale manufacturing, healthcare, and county and state government employment, alongside outdoor recreation tied to the Monongahela National Forest, the Elk River, and the Highland Scenic Highway corridor nearby. Webster Springs hosts the Webster County Wood Chopping Festival each May, a long-running lumberjack-sport event and one of the county’s best-known annual gatherings.<\/p>\n Webster County was formed on January 10, 1860, from parts of Nicholas, Braxton, and Randolph counties, and named for Massachusetts senator and statesman Daniel Webster. Movement toward creating the county began in 1851. Like much of central West Virginia, the county’s economy boomed with railroad-driven timber and coal extraction in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, then declined through the mid-20th century as those industries contracted \u2014 the population fell from its 1940 peak by more than half over the following decades.<\/p>\n West Virginia Routes 15, 20, and 82 are the county’s main highways, connecting Webster Springs to the surrounding counties; there is no interstate access within the county.<\/p>\n The nearest commercial airport is North Central West Virginia Airport in Bridgeport, roughly 50 miles north.<\/p>\n Where is Webster County, West Virginia?<\/strong> What is the population of Webster County?<\/strong> How big is Webster County?<\/strong> What is the county seat of Webster County?<\/strong> How many towns are in Webster County?<\/strong> What ZIP codes are in Webster County?<\/strong> |