PART I. 



History and Physiography, 



CHAPTER I. 



HISTORICAL AND INDUSTRIAL 

 DEVELOPMENT. 



LOCATION. 



Lewis and Gilmer Counties, comprising the area treated 

 in this Report, are situated in the central part of West Vir- 

 ginia, being included within the parallels of 39 11' and 38 

 43' North Latitude, and 80 18' and 81 04' West Longitude 

 from Greenwich. They lie within the watersheds of the West 

 Fork of the Monongahela and the Little Kanawha Rivers, the 

 waters of which reach the Gulf of Mexico through the Ohio 

 and Mississippi Rivers. Lewis, the more eastern of the two 

 counties, is bounded on the north by Doddridge and Harrison, 

 on the east by Upshur, on the south by \Vebster, Braxton and 

 Gilmer, and on the west by Braxton, Gilmer and Doddridge 

 Counties. Gilmer is bounded on the north by Ritchie, Dodd- 

 ridge and Lewis, on the east by Lewis and Braxton, on the 

 south by Braxton, and on the west by Calhoun and Ritchie 

 Counties. 



Their geographical position may be observed in detail 

 from Figures 1 and 2 in this. Volume and from Maps I and II, 

 enclosed in a separate atlas accompanying this Report. 



