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Office: Wirt County Office of Emergency Management – Elizabeth, WV
Notes: Wirt County Sheriff’s Office, 15 Court St, Elizabeth, WV 26143, (304) 275-4222, always dial 911 for actual emergencies. Elizabeth-Wirt Volunteer Fire Department serves the Town of Elizabeth (which has no separate town police department – the Sheriff’s Office and WV State Police cover law enforcement there). Wirt County Emergency Squad provides out-of-hospital acute medical care and transport.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: WV-5, WV-14, and WV-53 all serve Elizabeth
Transit: No dedicated fixed-route county transit identified; confirm current regional options directly with the county
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Wirt County Assessor’s Office – 19 Washington Street, Suite 100, Elizabeth, WV 26143 | (304) 275-3192
Services: A building permit is required for all new construction in Wirt County
Notes: Properties in a floodplain may face additional requirements – confirm directly with the Assessor’s Office before starting a 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: Wirt County Public Library – housed within Wirt County High School, 431 Mulberry Street, Elizabeth, WV 26143
Services: Genuinely and uniquely the ONLY library in the entire state of West Virginia that operates as BOTH a high school library AND a public library simultaneously; established 1962 (expanded 1980) as a memorial to the mother of Elizabeth native Ronald B. Woodyard, who contributed substantial personal funds toward the library and other community projects; combined the former high school library (previously housed in a classroom) with the county’s Sergeant Library, previously located in the Board of Education office – one of the first cooperative school/public library arrangements ever established in West Virginia, maintained through a unique ongoing partnership between the Wirt County Board of Trustees and Wirt County Board of Education
Notes: This dual-purpose structure is a genuinely distinctive, verifiable fact about library access in this small county – confirm current public hours directly given the shared school building.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Wirt County, created January 19, 1848 and named for U.S. Attorney General and presidential candidate William Wirt, is genuinely and profoundly significant to American industrial history as the site of BURNING SPRINGS, along the Little Kanawha River – one of the very first oil fields in the entire United States, predating and arguably influencing the famous 1859 Drake Well in Titusville, Pennsylvania that is more commonly credited as the birthplace of the American oil industry; wells at Burning Springs, initially drilled for salt brine by the Rathbone family beginning in the 1840s, were producing and selling petroleum as “illuminating oil” as early as 1836; after the Rathbones’ 1859-60 well struck true oil production, the community exploded, drawing roughly 10,000 people to the area by 1861 in what one historical account described as “a Sodom of sin, anointed with oil,” lit at night by the abundant natural gas from the wells; Burning Springs was, at the start of the Civil War, one of only TWO oil fields in the entire world; on May 9, 1863, Confederate General William E. Jones deliberately set fire to the Burning Springs oil field and its stored crude as part of the Jones-Imboden Raid, a costly and historically significant act of industrial sabotage; the Burning Springs Complex (also known as the Rathbone and Karns Wells), encompassing the original well sites, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places; Elizabeth, the county seat (chartered 1822, became county seat in 1848), was named for the daughter of the area’s first European pioneer settler, and its 1911 Wirt County Courthouse (Classical Revival, architect B.F. Smith) – the most significant building in this small community of fewer than 1,000 residents – is also National Register-listed
Notes: Burning Springs’ genuine, documented status as one of the very first oil fields in world history, deliberately destroyed by Confederate forces during the Civil War, is an extraordinary, verifiable piece of national industrial history centered in this tiny county.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Wirt County GIS – accessible via wirtcounty.wv.gov
Parcel Search: Wirt County Assessor’s records
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Wirt County Office of Emergency Management
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Nelson Animal Retreat, Inc. – Elizabeth, WV 26143 | (304) 588-8530 | Email: [email protected]
Notes: Confirm current hours, address, and intake process directly, as detailed operational information beyond contact details was limited in available sources. No dedicated county-run animal shelter was confirmed – Nelson Animal Retreat appears to be the primary local resource.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Environmental Complaints: West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection – dep.wv.gov
Notes: Contact Wirt County directly for current refuse collection and recycling program details.
NOTES
Wirt County, West Virginia’s least populous county, holds an extraordinary and often overlooked place in world industrial history – Burning Springs was one of the very first oil fields on Earth, a site so consequential the Confederacy deliberately destroyed it during the Civil War. The county’s public library, uniquely combined with its high school, reflects the resourceful, tightly knit character of this small rural community. All contact information above was sourced from official county, historical, and organization pages as of this writing; phone numbers and hours should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit.
About Wirt County County
Wirt County is West Virginia’s least populous county – a Little Kanawha River community of quiet forested hills and traditional Appalachian settlements where Elizabeth’s courthouse serves fewer than 6,000 residents spread across creek hollows and rural farmsteads in one of the most genuinely remote and unhurried communities in the eastern United States.
Elizabeth (the county seat, population ~900) is Wirt County’s governmental hub on the Little Kanawha River, one of West Virginia’s smallest and most quietly Appalachian county seats – a river community whose courthouse, small businesses, and community institutions serve the county’s dispersed rural population.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Wirt County Assessor at P.O. Box 53, Elizabeth, WV 26143, phone 304-275-4271. WV residential assessed at 60% of market value. Appeal to Board of Equalization and Review.
Courts & Legal
Wirt County Circuit Court at 114 Court Street, Elizabeth, WV 26143, phone 304-275-4271, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
145 Court St, Elizabeth, WV 26143
(304) 275-3392
CIRCUIT CLERK
145 Court St, Elizabeth, WV 26143
(304) 275-3287
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Wirt County Clerk’s Office, Elizabeth (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above). The Wirt County Courthouse (1911, Classical Revival) is on the National Register of Historic Places. The nearby Beauchamp-Newman House (1830s, oldest brick building in Elizabeth) hosted the first meeting of Wirt County’s courts on May 23, 1848, and is now a museum operated by the Elizabeth Beauchamp Chapter, Daughters of American Pioneers.
Local societies
Elizabeth Beauchamp Chapter, Daughters of American Pioneers, operates the Beauchamp-Newman Museum and is a notable local historical resource.
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
Wirt County Clerk’s Office (Probate/Fiduciary Supervisor) 19 Court Street, PO Box 465, Elizabeth, WV 26143 (304) 275-6597
Wirt County was founded January 19, 1848, named for former U.S. Attorney General William Wirt, along the Little Kanawha River, West Virginia’s LEAST POPULOUS county, county seat Elizabeth. 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 Wirt 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
145 Court St, Elizabeth, WV 26143
(304) 275-4231
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
(304) 275-3392
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
Wirt County Health Department, 111 Court St, Elizabeth, WV 26143
(304) 275-4271
DHHR Office
Wirt County DHHR Office, 111 Court St, Elizabeth, WV 26143
(304) 275-3232
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Wirt County Health Department
Services: Immunizations, WIC, environmental health, vital records
Notes: Confirm current hours directly; WV Department of Health & Human Resources regional office, 400 5th St., Parkersburg, WV, also serves the area.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Elizabeth
Population: 5,600
Public Records
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