Welch, West Virginia

City of Welch, W.Va.

Welch, West Virginia (WV), the county seat of McDowell County, was incorporated in 1894 and named for Isiah A. Welch, a captain in the Confederate Army. Situated on the Tug Fork River at the mouth of Elkhorn Creek, in the southernmost West Virginia coalfields, the city boomed in the early 1900s. The first memorial raised to the U.S. veterans of World War I is located at Welch, as was the nation’s first municipally-owned parking building.

Minnie Buckingham Harper became the first black woman legislator in the United States in 1928, appointed by the governor to fill the vacancy caused by the death of her husband. Comedian Steve Harvey was born at Welch in 1957.

Lodging near Welch, West Virginia

Welch (WV) Hotels

Parks & Public Recreation Facilities

• Welch City Park
• Tug Fork Wildlife Management Area

Location

Welch is located on highways US-52 and WV-16 approximately 20 miles south of Pineville, West Virginia, 12 miles west of Keystone, West Virginia, 20 miles east of Iaeger, West Virginia, and 15 miles northeast of War, West Virginia.

Map of Welch, West Virginia

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Regional Information

Welch is located in the Hatfield & McCoy Region in southern West Virginia.