Parsons, WV

Parsons sits where Shavers Fork and the Black Fork meet to form the head of the Cheat River. The city became Tucker County's seat and took its name from Ward Parsons, a major landholder in the area. The West Virginia Central and Pittsburg Railway reached Parsons in 1888, bringing freight, passengers, and a timber boom that pushed the town into a new era. Parsons incorporated in 1893, and the river junction still gives the city its clearest geographic mark.

The county courthouse and offices keep Parsons at the center of Tucker County's daily business, while the Cheat River and the surrounding Allegheny Plateau shape work and recreation beyond town. Logging, livestock, limestone, and tourism remain part of the wider county economy. The old rail era ended for passengers in the late twentieth century, but modern road links, including Corridor H, have reopened the region to easier trips. The annual Pickin' in Parsons bluegrass festival adds a musical date to a place otherwise defined by courthouse work, river water, forest roads, and mountain weather.