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Office: Doddridge County Office of Emergency Management/Floodplain Director George Eidel – 99 Court Street, Suite 128, West Union, WV 26456 | (304) 873-1343
Notes: The county’s Floodplain Manager administers flood damage prevention ordinance enforcement, updates flood maps/plans, and handles National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) compliance. Separately, the Doddridge County Ambulance Authority (DCAA), created by the County Commission and granted primary 911 authority October 1, 2010, provides Advanced Life Support EMS – Director R. Neal Romain, 99 Court Street, Suite 227, West Union, WV 26456, (304) 873-3650; Smithburg Station, (304) 873-3652.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-50 runs through West Union
Transit: No dedicated fixed-route county transit identified; confirm current regional options directly with the county
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Doddridge County Commission – County Courthouse, 101 Church Street, Suite 101, West Union, WV 26456 | (304) 873-1373 | Fax: (304) 873-1840
Notes: Confirm current county-level building permit authority directly, as specific permitting process details were limited in available sources – contact the County Commission or West Union City Hall directly before starting any project.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
State VSO: West Virginia Department of Veterans Assistance – veterans.wv.gov (statewide office locator for the nearest County Veteran Service Officer)
Notes: Confirm current local point of contact directly with veterans.wv.gov.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Doddridge County Public Library – 170 Marie Street, West Union, WV 26456 | (304) 873-1941 | Fax: (304) 873-1324 | Hours: Mon–Thu 9 AM–6 PM, Fri 9 AM–4 PM, Sat 9 AM–1 PM
Services: A genuinely well-utilized small county library – roughly 34,000 print materials, over 17,900 annual visits, and nearly 26,500 annual circulation transactions for a county of under 8,000 residents
Notes: Confirm current branch structure directly, as county records reference 2 public library outlets serving Doddridge County.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Doddridge County, founded February 4, 1845 and named for Philip Doddridge, a distinguished West Virginia statesman who spent much of his career in neighboring Brooke County; the county’s original oil pool at Center Point was discovered and drilled in 1892, launching a genuine oil-and-gas boom that extended the western Pennsylvania petroleum industry into Tyler and Doddridge Counties, with many farm families splitting their time between farmwork and oil operations; the Doddridge County Courthouse (1899), designed in Victorian Romanesque style by architect J. Charles Fulton (who also designed the Barbour and Randolph County courthouses), replaced an earlier courthouse destroyed by fire in 1898 and features stone carvings by James Grant, now listed on the National Register of Historic Places; the county was home to J.H. Diss Debar, who genuinely designed West Virginia’s official Great Seal and state coat of arms – a direct, verifiable connection to state iconography; nearby Jaco Cave was featured in the 1970s film “No Drums, No Bugles,” which included local residents alongside actor Martin Sheen (father of Charlie Sheen); West Union, the county seat (originally called Lewisport), was formally incorporated July 20, 1881, and serves as a regional trade center closely tied to oil, gas, and glass production
Notes: The J.H. Diss Debar connection to West Virginia’s official state seal design is a genuinely notable, verifiable piece of state iconographic history for a county this small.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Doddridge County GIS – accessible via doddridgecountywv.gov
Parcel Search: Doddridge County Assessor’s records
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Doddridge County OEM/Floodplain Director
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Doddridge County Humane Society, Inc. – 1286 Wiseman Run Road, Salem, WV 26426 | (304) 782-4900 | Email: [email protected]
Services: A nonprofit rescue and rehoming organization, working closely with the county’s animal control officer (the majority of animals in its care originate from that officer); adoption fees for dogs $125 (mixed breed) to $175-225 (purebred/with papers), cats $75-100, all including spay/neuter, vaccinations, deworming, and flea treatment; adopters must be 18+, present valid ID, and consent to a background check confirming no animal cruelty record; adoptions are placed both in and out of state
Notes: Confirm current contact for the Doddridge County Animal Control Officer directly with the County Commission, as this appears to be a distinct enforcement role separate from the Humane Society’s care/rehoming function.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Environmental Complaints: West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection – dep.wv.gov
Notes: Contact Doddridge County directly for current refuse collection and recycling program details.
NOTES
Doddridge County holds a genuinely distinctive piece of West Virginia state history – county resident J.H. Diss Debar personally designed the state’s official Great Seal and coat of arms, artifacts still in official use today. The county’s 1892 oil discovery at Center Point also connects it directly to the broader western Pennsylvania oil boom of that era. All contact information above was sourced from official county and organization pages as of this writing; phone numbers and hours should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit.
About Doddridge County County
Doddridge County is north-central West Virginia’s oil and gas heritage county – a Middle Island Creek community whose subsurface energy resources have provided economic sustenance across multiple extraction booms while the county’s rural surface landscape of forested hills and small farms has maintained its traditional Appalachian character.
West Union (the county seat, population ~800) is Doddridge County’s governmental hub, a small north-central West Virginia county seat community on US 50 serving the county’s rural oil and gas producing communities.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Doddridge County Assessor at 118 Court Street, Suite 3, West Union, WV 26456, phone 304-873-1240. WV residential assessed at 60% of market value. Appeal to Board of Equalization and Review.
Courts & Legal
Doddridge County Circuit Court at 118 Court Street, West Union, WV 26456, phone 304-873-1240, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
108 Court St, West Union, WV 26456
(304) 873-2262
CIRCUIT CLERK
108 Court St, West Union, WV 26456
(304) 873-1155
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Doddridge County Clerk’s Office, West Union (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Doddridge County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Doddridge County Clerk’s Office (Probate/Fiduciary Supervisor) 108 Court Street, Suite 1, West Union, WV 26456 (304) 873-2631
Doddridge County is in North Central West Virginia, in the state’s natural gas-producing Marcellus/Utica Shale region, county seat West Union. West Virginia has NO separate probate court and has NOT adopted the Uniform Probate Code. Probate is handled administratively through the COUNTY COMMISSION, via the elected COUNTY CLERK (clerk of the county commission) and that office’s FIDUCIARY SUPERVISOR – not through the Circuit Court, which handles only contested or referred matters.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
West Virginia’s probate framework runs under Chapter 44 of the West Virginia Code, administered locally at the county commission level rather than in a court of record.
West Virginia Small Estate Act (W. Va. Code §44-1A) – available when the decedent’s ENTIRE personal probate estate does not exceed $50,000 in “small assets,” AND the decedent owned no interest in real property at all. As of a July 9, 2025 change in the law, real estate provisions were removed from the Small Estate Act entirely – any estate involving real property, of any value, can no longer use this affidavit process. If the affiant is the nominated personal representative under a will, the affidavit can be filed 30 days after death; otherwise, 60 days must pass. No personal representative may be pending or appointed in any jurisdiction. Note: in this heavily oil-and-gas region, mineral rights and severed mineral interests are real property and generally take an estate out of small-estate eligibility.
Full/Standard Administration – required whenever real property is involved, or the estate exceeds $50,000 in personal property. The executor (with a will) or administrator (without one) qualifies before the County Clerk, receives Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration, files an appraisement within 90 days of qualification, and settles the estate through the Fiduciary Supervisor or, for complex or contested matters, a court-appointed Fiduciary Commissioner.
Only if a genuine dispute arises – a will contest, or disagreement over appointment – does the matter go before the County Commission for a hearing, or in some cases the Circuit Court.
Step 2: filing for administration
The person seeking to serve as executor or administrator brings the original will (if any) and a certified death certificate to the Doddridge County Clerk’s Office to qualify.
The Clerk issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration; a corporate surety bond is typically required unless waived by the will or by agreement of all beneficiaries (with no debts).
The personal representative files an appraisement of the estate’s assets, generally within 90 days of qualification.
Notice to creditors must be published; once an appraisement is filed, the County Clerk must publish notice within 30 days (or within 120 days of qualification if no appraisement is filed).
The estate is settled through the Fiduciary Supervisor’s review, or referred to a Fiduciary Commissioner if complex or contested, culminating in a final settlement and accounting.
What it costs
Court filing fees to qualify as executor or administrator generally range from about $44 to $56, depending on whether there is a will.
West Virginia sets statutory executor commissions based on estate value: 5% on the first $100,000, 4% on the next $300,000, 3% on the next $400,000, and 2% on amounts above that.
Attorney fees for straightforward estates commonly range from $2,500-$5,000, and $5,000-$10,000+ for complex or contested cases; add bond premiums, newspaper publication fees, and appraisal/recording fees.
West Virginia does NOT impose a state estate tax or inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax may apply, and only to estates above the federal exemption (roughly $15 million for a 2026 death).
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
108 Court St, West Union, WV 26456
(304) 873-1147
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
(304) 873-2262
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
Doddridge County Health Department, 210 High St, West Union, WV 26456
(304) 873-1948
DHHR Office
Doddridge County DHHR Office, 210 High St, West Union, WV 26456
(304) 873-1155
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Doddridge County Health Department
Services: Immunizations, WIC, environmental health, vital records
Notes: Confirm current hours directly.
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Editorial Trust
5 official sources cited
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: West Union
Population: 8,300
Public Records
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Search public records for Doddridge County County residents.
