Ritchie County
From West Virginia (WV) Cyclopedia
Formed in 1843 from parts of Wood, Harrision and Lewis Counties, and named in honor of Thomas Ritchie, a distinguished journalist of Richmond, Virginia, whose mother was a sister of Judge Spencer Roane, for whom adjacent Roane County was named. The U.S. 50 expressway travels through the hills of northern Ritchie County on its east-west route between Clarksburg, WV, and Parkersburg, WV. The north and south forks of the Hughes River drain much of Ritchie County.
County Seat: Harrisville, WV
Population: 10,343 (2000 Census (http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFFacts?_event=Search&geo_id=05000US54083&_geoContext=01000US%7C04000US54%7C05000US54083&_street=&_county=Ritchie&_cityTown=&_state=04000US54&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on))
Ritchie County Profile (http://www.wvbep.org/bep/lmi/CNTYPROF/CP99ritc.HTM)
Lodging: Ritchie County Hotels (http://www.reservetravel.com/v4/redir.aspx?type=geo&rad=20&lbl=Ritchie%20County&lat=39.199874&lon=-81.066437&siteid=7790)
Cities and Towns
Cairo, WV
Harrisville, WV
Pennsboro, WV
Pullman, WV
Smaller Communities
Mountain, WV
Petroleum, WV
Smithville, WV
State Parks
North Bend State Park
Ritchie Mines Wildlife Management Area
Climate
Temperature Mean Annual Average: 54 (Degrees F)
January Averages: High 38 (Degrees F) -- Low 22 (Degrees F)
July Averages: High 84 (Degrees F) -- Low 65 (Degrees F)
Long Term Precipitation
January: 2.59 inches -- July: 4.26 (inches) -- Annual: 41.5 (inches)
Mean Annual Snowfall Range
25 - 30 inches
Ritchie County Weather Forecast (http://www.wvwebsites.com/cgi-bin/weather/hamweather.cgi?theme=default&user=default&forecast=zandh&state=wv&zone=019)
