2009 - Wyoming County Courthouse

Wyoming County Courthouse is the twenty fifth print in the ALPHA series West Virginia Architectural and Engineering Heritage. Situated on a hillside in the center of Pineville is the Wyoming County Courthouse. The stately Courthouse is the hub of government in Wyoming County, West Virginia and has been since it was constructed between 1916 and 1918. Wyoming County was created by an act of the Virginia General Assembly on January 26, 1850 from parts of Logan County. Early data from the 1850 census revealed a County population of 1,645. The early County Seat is the modern day town of Oceana. Residents voted in 1907 to move the County Seat to Pineville, named for the large grove of black pine trees that stood near town. The prominent Charleston based architect A. F. Wysong designed the Courthouse in a Neo-Classical Revival style that was popular during the early part of the century. The courthouse features an Imperial Roman style portico with a triangular pediment that is supported by four modified Roman Doric columns. The native-cut rock-faced ashlar stone is complimented by smooth native-cut stone used to accent the windows and doors. The remote location, coupled with the lack of a railroad forced construction materials to be transported by horse drawn wagons for a distance of over ten miles. County documents reveal an original construction cost of $79,000. The cost to construct such a building today would likely exceed Three Million Dollars.