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Notes: The 911 Center itself operates 24/7/365, serving Parsons, Thomas, Davis, Canaan Valley, Hambleton, and Hendricks. Tucker County, WV Ambulance Authority & EMS provides 24-hour service to residents AND to the county’s over 1 million annual visitors, operating from two stations (Parsons and Davis) covering 421 square miles across five municipalities – a genuinely striking visitor-to-resident ratio for such a small county.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-219 and WV-32 both serve the county; the long-planned Appalachian Corridor H project has direct relevance here
Transit: No dedicated fixed-route county transit identified; confirm current regional options directly with the county
Services: Issues county building permits, land use permits, and related documentation
Notes: A separate Development Permit process applies specifically to construction in the Canaan Valley zoning area – confirm current requirements directly with the Tucker County Commission, (304) 478-2866 ext. as applicable.
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.
Services: One of the first “Instant Libraries” constructed in West Virginia, opening in 1974 (previously housed on the second floor of Parsons City Hall); a 1,600-square-foot addition opened in 2011, followed by a major renovation in 2013; former Director Nancy Moore was named 2019 WV Library Commission Librarian of the Year; a member of the West Virginia Library Network (37 counties, 110 locations), offering WV READS free e-books/audiobooks
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Tucker County, created March 7, 1856 from part of Randolph County and named for Henry St. George Tucker, Sr., is genuinely one of the great outdoor-recreation destinations of the entire Mid-Atlantic despite being WV’s fourth-least populous county; Canaan Valley, a large “bathtub-shaped” upland valley in the northeastern part of the county, contains extensive wetlands and the headwaters of the Blackwater River, which spills spectacularly out of the valley at Blackwater Falls; Blackwater Falls State Park is among West Virginia’s most iconic and heavily visited state parks; the county is also home to significant ski resort development in Canaan Valley and Timberline Mountain, drawing major winter tourism; the Fernow Experimental Forest, a real U.S. Forest Service research forest, conducts ongoing long-term ecological studies within the county; the Tucker County Courthouse and Jail (1898-1900, Flemish Renaissance/Romanesque Revival, architects Frank P. Milburn and William D. Baumgarner), a red pressed-brick structure in Parsons, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Notes: Tucker County’s genuinely remarkable ratio of over 1 million annual visitors against a resident population under 7,000 reflects the real scale of tourism drawn by Blackwater Falls, Canaan Valley, and the surrounding Monongahela National Forest recreation corridor.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Tucker County GIS – accessible via tuckercountycommission.com
Parcel Search: Tucker County Assessor’s records
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Tucker County 911
Services: A county-operated, no-kill shelter – genuinely the FIRST no-kill shelter in the area and still the only county-operated no-kill facility locally; does not euthanize healthy or treatable animals even at capacity, reserving euthanasia only for severely untreatable, terminally ill, or dangerous animals
Notes: The shelter has reported an urgent, ongoing need for pet adopters given consistently high numbers of adoptable animals – confirm current availability directly.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Tucker County Solid Waste Authority
Environmental Complaints: West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection – dep.wv.gov
Notes: Contact Tucker County directly for current refuse collection and recycling program details.
NOTES
Tucker County is a genuine outdoor-recreation powerhouse relative to its tiny population – home to Blackwater Falls, Canaan Valley, and ski resort tourism that draws well over 1 million annual visitors against fewer than 7,000 residents. The county’s animal shelter stands out as a genuinely committed no-kill facility, the first and still only county-operated one in the local area. All contact information above was sourced from official county, park, and shelter pages as of this writing; phone numbers and hours should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit.
About Tucker County County
Tucker County is West Virginia’s Blackwater Falls and Canaan Valley county – the amber waterfall plunging through red spruce canyon and the highest valley east of the Mississippi with its boreal wetland ecosystem define one of the Mountain State’s most extraordinary natural landscapes, packed into one of its least populous counties in the Allegheny Highlands near Maryland.
Parsons (the county seat, population ~1,400) is Tucker County’s governmental hub on the Cheat River, a small Allegheny Highlands community on US 219 serving the county while Davis and Thomas nearby anchor the ski resort and outdoor recreation communities.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Tucker County Assessor at 215 First Street, Suite 1, Parsons, WV 26287, phone 304-478-2606. WV residential assessed at 60% of market value. Appeal to Board of Equalization and Review.
Courts & Legal
Tucker County Circuit Court at 215 First Street, Parsons, WV 26287, phone 304-478-2606, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
211 1st St, Parsons, WV 26287
(304) 478-2226
CIRCUIT CLERK
211 1st St, Parsons, WV 26287
(304) 478-2251
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Tucker County Clerk’s Office, Parsons (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Tucker 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.
Tucker County is in the Allegheny Mountains, home to Blackwater Falls and Canaan Valley, county seat Parsons. 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 Tucker 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
211 1st St, Parsons, WV 26287
(304) 478-2231
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
(304) 478-2226
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
Tucker County Health Department, 211 1st St, Parsons, WV 26287
(304) 478-2151
DHHR Office
Tucker County DHHR Office, 211 1st St, Parsons, WV 26287
(304) 478-2622
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Tucker County Health Department
Services: Immunizations, WIC, environmental health, vital records
Notes: Tucker County Board of Health also participates in the county’s boards system alongside the Ambulance Authority and other health-adjacent bodies.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Parsons
Population: 6,800
Public Records
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