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Braxton County map

Braxton, the central county of West Virginia, was created on January 15, 1836, from Kanawha, Lewis, and Nicholas counties. It is named for Carter Braxton, a Virginia statesman and a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Mapped Points

• Sutton

  Sutton, the county seat of Braxton County, was settled in 1792. Because of its location, Sutton was embroiled in the Civil War. On September 5, 1861, the town was occupied by 5,000 Union troops. Later in 1861, General Rosecrans bivouacked 10,000 Union troops there, including future President William McKinley.
  

  

• Flatwoods

  Flatwoods is a thriving complex of restaurants, motels, a factory outlet mall, and other businesses on Interstate 79. The community is famous for the Flatwoods (or Braxton County) Monster.

• Burnsville

  Burnsville was founded in 1830 because of the readily available river transport and abundant timber resources in the surrounding area. Capt. John M. Burns established a sawmill there shortly after the end of the Civil War, in 1866. Danny Heater, who holds the national record for most points scored in a high school basketball game, lived in Burnsville and attended Burnsville High School.

• Gassaway

  Gassaway is named for Henry Gassaway Davis, a U.S. senator and industrialist. Gassaway was a major division point on Davis’s Coal & Coke Railway, built between Charleston and Elkins in the early 1900s.

• Elk River Wildlife Management Area

  The geographic center of West Virginia lies within the Elk River Wildlife Management Area.

• Bulltown Historic District

  During the Civil War, Union and Confederate troops occupied Bulltown from June 1861 until April 1865. The Battle of Bulltown took place on October 13, 1863. The historic district features the battlefield, a visitors center, and a restored farm.
  

  

• Burnsville Dam

  Burnsville Dam on the Little Kanawha River began operating in December 1978. Burnsville Lake is used for both flood control and recreation.
  

  

• Sutton Dam

  Sutton Dam was dedicated on July 8, 1961. The Army Corps of Engineers built and operates the dam for purposes of flood control, low-flow augmentation, and recreation.
  

  

• Elk River

  The Elk River meanders 177 miles from its headwaters in Pocahontas County westerly to its confluence with the Kanawha River at Charleston.
  

  

• Little Kanawha River

  The Little Kanawha River begins near Craddock, Upshur County, and flows westward through Braxton, Gilmer, Calhoun, Wirt, and Wood counties.

• Burnsville Lake Wildlife Management Area

  The 12,256-acre Burnsville Lake Wildlife Management Area provides excellent hunting.

• Birch River

  The Birch River drains an area of 143 square miles, and is the second-largest tributary of Elk River.

• Holly River

  Holly River begins as two separate forks in the rugged mountains of Webster and Randolph counties in West Virginia. These forks flow westward, coming together in Braxton County to form the Holly River mainstream just before the river enters Sutton Lake.