2007 - Mineral County Courthouse, Keyser, WV

Mineral County Courthouse is the twenty third print in the ALPHA series West Virginia Architectural and Engineering Heritage. Keyser, originally known as New Creek, is the home of the Mineral County Courthouse. Settlers first entered the area during the French and Indian War, and the county seat was founded in 1866. The Civil War in Hampshire County was a time of division, with residents at odds with each other on the issue of slavery. Some state lawmakers of that era encouraged the reduction of Hampshire County as punishment for resident slave owners. This issue was so divisive that local business man Henry Gassaway Davis convinced the State Legislature to divide Hampshire County, thus creating Mineral County. The expanding manufacturing industry, railroad and coal mines had resulted in Mineral County growing to more than 6,000 residents by 1870. Local lawmakers soon realized the need for a county courthouse. The early equivalent of a County Commission in Mineral County supervised the design and construction of the courthouse. The County Board of Supervisors appointed a committee of local businessmen to oversee the construction, with the first step being the approval of the architectural plans. The original design, historically referred to as “modest”, was used by I.B. Walton to build the original courthouse on the site. A mere twenty years after the initial construction, major renovations occurred that transformed the modest courthouse into a Romanesque revival style building. In 1894, additional construction added both interior and exterior elements that converted the courthouse to a style more typical of courthouses in larger cities. Additional alterations were completed in 1938, 1941 and 1955. The courthouse has remained the center of government activity in Mineral County since it was first constructed.