The county was established in 1809 and named after William H Cabell. Cabell was a lawyer, politician, and, judge for the state. With the county seat being Huntington, it is the state’s fourth most populated county. That being said, the population count is 96,139 residents along with a total area of 288 square miles.
The county began taking formation on November 14, 1788, under the authorization of the Virginia General Assembly and was founded on October 5, 1789. The county was named for the Kanawha River, which in turn was named after a Native American tribe that lived in the area. During the American Civil War, a number of state infantry and cavalry regiments were organized in the county for both the Confederate and the Union. With a total area of 911 sqaure miles, it is home to 193,063 residents.
The Virginia General Assembly formed Putnam County on March 11, 1848, from parts of Cabell, Kanawha, and Mason counties. It was named after Israel Putnam, who was a hero in the French and Indian War and a general in the American Revolutionary War. History states that former first president George Washington surveyed the area in 1770. The county seat, which is Winfield, was founded in 1818 however, it didn’t become incorporated until 1868. The county has a total area of 350 square miles and has a population count of 55,486 residents.
