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West Virginia County
Preston County, West Virginia
Preston County's Buckwheat Festival and the Cheat River gorge - from the Preston County Buckwheat Festival (one of West Virginia's largest annual festivals, drawing tens of thousands of visitors each October to celebrate the county's buckwheat farming heritage with pancakes, cakes, and community traditions dating to 1938) to the Cheat River's exceptional whitewater (the Cheat Canyon provides Class III-IV whitewater through a dramatic gorge that is one of the finest springtime paddling runs in the eastern United States) and Coopers Rock State Forest's overlook of the Cheat River canyon.
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Office: Preston County Office of Emergency Management / EMS – EMS Director Henry T. McDonald Jr.
Notes: Preston County Sheriff’s Office, (304) 329-1611, Fax: (304) 329-2794. Several incorporated towns maintain their own community neighborhood watch programs: Terra Alta (304) 789-6524, Bruceton Mills (304) 379-6600, Tunnelton (304) 568-2338, Kingwood (304) 329-2220, Rowlesburg (304) 454-9229.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-68 and US-50 both serve Preston County; the Cheat River basin shapes the county’s geography and watershed management concerns
Transit: No dedicated fixed-route county transit identified; confirm current regional options directly with the county
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Preston County Commission – 106 West Main Street, Suite 202, Kingwood, WV 26537 | (304) 329-1805 | Fax: (304) 329-3192
Notes: IMPORTANT – Preston County does NOT maintain a comprehensive zoning ordinance across its unincorporated areas, distinguishing it from more urbanized WV counties like Kanawha or Monongalia; no county-wide building permit is generally required for unincorporated construction, though subdivision regulations, floodplain development permits, and septic system approval (via the Preston County Health Department) still apply where relevant. If your property is within an incorporated town such as Kingwood, Terra Alta, or Masontown, that town’s own building department governs instead – e.g., Kingwood City Hall, (304) 329-1225, requires a permit for new construction, additions, major renovations, and detached structures like garages, following the standard WV inspection sequence (foundation, framing, rough-in, final).
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: Confirm current library system name and hours directly with the county, as detailed public library information was limited in available sources for Preston County specifically.
Notes: Contact the Preston County Commission or City of Kingwood for current library location details.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Preston County, created January 19, 1818 and named for Virginia Governor James Patton Preston, is genuinely home to Arthurdale, a nationally significant historic community – Arthurdale was the NATION’S FIRST NEW DEAL HOMESTEAD PROJECT, created in 1933 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal legislation and championed personally by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who intervened directly with Interior Secretary Harold L. Ickes to ensure the homes were built with modern amenities (insulation, indoor plumbing, and refrigerators she personally selected), often visited to dine and dance with homesteaders, and even handed out diplomas at Arthurdale High School graduations, spending much of her own personal income on the project alongside major contributions from philanthropist Bernard Baruch; the first homesteaders arrived in 1934, receiving 2-5 acre properties among 165 newly built homes; the Arthurdale Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and remains a functioning community today (population 1,143 as of 2020); Preston County holds 23 total NRHP listings, including 3 of national significance, with other notable sites like the Fairfax Stone Site and the James Clark McGrew House in Kingwood; the county’s landscape includes the Cheat River and the ecologically distinctive Cranesville Swamp Preserve, a rare boreal bog ecosystem
Notes: Arthurdale’s status as the first-ever New Deal homestead community, with direct, extensively documented, hands-on involvement from Eleanor Roosevelt herself, is a genuinely significant and verifiable piece of national Great Depression-era history centered in this county.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Preston County GIS – accessible via prestoncountywv.gov
Parcel Search: Preston County Assessor’s records
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Preston County Office of Emergency Management
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Preston County Animal Shelter – Poor Farm Road, Kingwood, WV | Construction began 1991, completed 1992
Services: A municipal animal control facility and the COUNTY’S ONLY animal control shelter, accepting all breeds and sizes of dogs
Notes: The shelter operates with limited space and a high intake rate – pets, especially small dogs and puppies, are often adopted the same day they arrive and may not even appear on the shelter’s Petfinder listings; if you don’t see the type of pet you’re looking for listed, contact the shelter directly or visit during an adoption day, as availability changes quickly.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Environmental Complaints: West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection – dep.wv.gov
Notes: Contact Preston County directly for current refuse collection and recycling program details.
NOTES
Preston County holds genuinely profound national historical significance through Arthurdale, the country’s first New Deal homestead community, shaped through Eleanor Roosevelt’s direct, hands-on personal involvement – a story that remains vividly documented and preserved today. The county’s animal shelter, its only facility, operates on tight capacity with fast turnover, worth knowing before assuming a long adoption wait. All contact information above was sourced from official county, community, and shelter pages as of this writing; phone numbers and hours should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit.
About Preston County
Preston County is north-central West Virginia’s Cheat River and Buckwheat Festival county – a high-elevation agricultural community whose annual celebration of an ancient grain draws one of West Virginia’s largest festivals.
Kingwood (the county seat, population ~3,000) serves the county’s governmental needs in a rolling agricultural landscape at the Maryland and Pennsylvania borders. The county’s higher elevation – Terra Alta sits at over 3,000 feet – produces a distinct climate that has supported buckwheat farming since the 19th century.
The Preston County Buckwheat Festival – held each October in Kingwood – is one of West Virginia’s largest and most beloved annual events, celebrating the county’s buckwheat farming heritage with pancake feeds, carnival rides, and agricultural competitions.
HERO: Preston County’s Buckwheat Festival and the Cheat River gorge – from the Preston County Buckwheat Festival (one of West Virginia’s largest annual festivals, drawing tens of thousands of visitors each October to celebrate the county’s buckwheat farming heritage with pancakes, cakes, and community traditions dating to 1938) to the Cheat River’s exceptional whitewater (the Cheat Canyon provides Class III-IV whitewater through a dramatic gorge that is one of the finest springtime paddling runs in the eastern United States) and Coopers Rock State Forest’s overlook of the Cheat River canyon.
Stats: Population ~33,218 (2020 Census) | County Seat: Kingwood | Founded: 1818 | WV property assessed at 60% of market value; appeal to County Board of Equalization and Review | No WV inheritance tax on direct descendants; estate tax: none
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Preston County Assessor at 106 W. Main Street, Suite 101, Kingwood, WV 26537, phone 304-329-1220. WV residential assessed at 60% of market value. Appeal to Board of Equalization and Review.
Courts & Legal
Preston County Circuit Court at 106 W. Main Street, Kingwood, WV 26537, phone 304-329-0050, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
101 W Union St, Kingwood, WV 26537
(304) 329-1400
CIRCUIT CLERK
101 W Union St, Kingwood, WV 26537
(304) 329-1620
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Preston County Clerk’s Office, Kingwood (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Preston 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
Preston County Clerk’s Office (Probate/Fiduciary Supervisor) 101 West Main Street, Kingwood, WV 26537 (304) 329-0070
Preston County is in North Central West Virginia along the Maryland and Pennsylvania borders, county seat Kingwood, part of the Morgantown metropolitan area. 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.
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 Preston 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
101 W Union St, Kingwood, WV 26537
(304) 329-1682
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
(304) 329-1400
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
Preston County Health Department, 300 S Price St, Kingwood, WV 26537
(304) 329-1546
DHHR Office
Preston County DHHR Office, 300 S Price St, Kingwood, WV 26537
(304) 329-1476
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Preston County Health Department
Services: Immunizations, WIC, environmental health (including septic system approval), vital records
Notes: Confirm current hours directly.
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County Facts
County Seat: Kingwood
Population: 33,500
Established: 1818
Tier: 3
Public Records
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