Braxton County, West Virginia

Braxton County, at the center of West Virginia, was created in 1836 from parts of Lewis, Kanawha, and Nicholas counties. It was named after Carter Braxton, a Virginia statesman who had signed the Declaration of Independence. The county seat is Sutton.

West Virginia’s population center is near Gassaway, and the state’s geographic center is near Sutton.

In 1772, at Bulltown, a family of Delaware Indians was massacred by frontiersmen, and a battle was fought there during the Civil War at the Battle of Bulltown.

The Elk and Little Kanawha rivers flow westward across the county. The Holly River joins the Elk River at Sutton Lake. As of the 2010 census, the population of Braxton County was 14,523.

The county is famously known as the home of the Flatwoods Monster, a legendary beast said to have crash-landed on the hill above Depot Street in 1952. It is also home to two large recreational lakes—Sutton Lake and Burnsville Lake—that attract thousands of anglers, boaters, and campers annually.

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Cities & Towns in Braxton County

• Bulltown, West Virginia
• Burnsville, West Virginia
• Centralia, West Virginia
• Copen, West Virginia
• Duck, West Virginia
• Elmira, West Virginia
• Exchange, West Virginia
• Falls Mill, West Virginia
• Flatwoods, West Virginia
• Frametown, West Virginia
• Gassaway, West Virginia
• Heaters, West Virginia
• Herold, West Virginia
• Holly, West Virginia
• Letch, West Virginia
• Little Birch, West Virginia
• Napier, West Virginia
• Orlando, West Virginia
• Rosedale, West Virginia
• Servia, West Virginia
• Strange Creek, West Virginia
• Sutton, West Virginia
• Telsa, West Virginia
• Wilsie, West Virginia

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Parks & Public Recreation Facilities

• Burnsville Lake Wildlife Management Area
• Elk River Wildlife Management Area

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Appalachian Forest National Heritage Area

The county is part of the Appalachian Forest National Heritage Area, a forested region of more than 500 square miles in central Appalachia in which tourism and forestry are industries.

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Braxton County Historic Landmarks

• Gassaway Depot (Gassaway, WV)

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Regional Information for Braxton County, West Virginia

For further information on lodging, dining, and recreation in Braxton County, please refer to our guide to travel in the Heartland Region of central West Virginia, where Braxton County is located.