Cabell County, West Virginia 200th Anniversary Special Edition
Side by Side Coach Shotgun
Cabell County, West Virginia - Established 1809, 1809 - 200th Anniversary - 2009. Located in Southwestern West Virginia along the Ohio River, Cabell County was created by an act of the Virginia General Assembly on January 2, 1809 from part of Kanawha County. It was named in honor of William H. Cabell (1772-1853), who served as Governor of Virginia from 1805 to 1808.
Huntington B&O Train Depot, Built 1892. The Ohio River Railroad Depot, built in 1892, came to Huntington as the B&O Depot. When it was first opened, a horse car line ran between it and the C&O Depot. After a bus terminal burned in the 1930's, it was jointly used for several years by the B&O and the Greyhound Lines.
Ohio River. Huntington is the largest inland port in the United States in both in terms of total tonnage and ton-miles. This is due in large part to the coal traffic from the railroads and the petroleum products produced by the Marathon Petroleum Company oil refinery in nearby Catlettsburg, Kentucky that use the Port of Huntington to load their products onto barges. Since its founding as the western terminus of the C&O Railroad, Huntington has also served as a major break of bulk point between rail traffic and the Ohio River/Mississippi River watershed. Much of the coal mined in southern West Virginia is brought to Huntington by train to be transshipped and then transported by river barges to industrial centers in other parts of the United States. In this fashion, the Ohio River has played a key role in Huntington's, and the region's, economic survival.
Cabell County Courthouse, 1899. The first meeting of the Cabell County court took place in 1809 the home of William Merritt who was living in or near the present town of Barboursville. The county seat was then located at Guyandotte and remained there until 1814, when it was moved to Barboursville. In 1863, the county seat was returned to Guyandotte for two years because Barboursville was controlled by the Confederate Army. Following the Civil War, Barboursville was, once again, named the county seat (in 1865). It continued to be the county seat until 1887 when the county voters moved it to Huntington. One of the first orders of business following Huntington's selection as the new county seat of government was where to build the new county courthouse. A site between Fourth and Fifth Avenues and Seventh and Eighth Streets was selected and purchased. On July 21, 1896, the contract for the construction was let to Charles A. Moses. The first corner stone was laid on November 11, 1899. The Courthouse was completed on December 4, 1901. In 1923, construction was undertaken on the west wing, at a cost of $133,900. Then, on August 22, 1938, plans were prepared for the new jail and for an east wing to the Courthouse. This new work was completed March 16, 1940.
Battle of Guyandotte, November of 1861. When first incorporated Guyandotte was a small, thriving, community. Today, Guyandotte is one of Huntington's 15 neighborhoods and the oldest section of the city. First settled in 1796, it grew rapidly and in 1810 the Virginia Assembly passed an act establishing a town by the name of Guyandotte. By 1835 Guyandotte had 40 homes, 5 stores, several churches, a school, a grist mill, a sawmill, and two cabinet makers. One of the better known businesses was the Buffington Mill, reportedly the largest flour mill between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. The Civil War hit Guyandotte on November 11, 1861 when Union troops burned the town in retaliation over a raid pulled off the day before by Confederate cavalry.
William Henry Cabell. 1772 - 1853, Virginia's 14th Governor. Cabell was a Virginia politician and Democratic-Republican, born at "Boston Hill" in what is now Cumberland County, Virginia on December 16, 1772. He was the son of Colonel Nicholas Cabell and Hannah Carrington Cabell. Graduated from William and Mary in July 1793, was licensed to practice law in Richmond on June 13, 1794. With the start of his practice as a lawyer in July 1794, he also started his career in politics. He was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates and a Presidential elector. He was Governor of Virginia from 1805 to 1808. In December 1808, he was elected as a judge of the general court. After being on that court for two years he was elected to the Court of Appeals on March 21, 1811. Serving continuously until the reorganization of the court in 1831, he was again elected to the new court, where he became president on January 18, 1842. He remained in this position until 1851 but during his last year was frequently unable to be present because of ill health. Judge Cabell was on the Court of Appeals for forty-one years. He died on January 12, 1853 in Richmond, Virginia and was there interred in Shockoe Hill Cemetery. Cabell County, West Virginia was named in his honor.
Collis Potter Huntington. 1821 - 1900, Founded Huntington, 1870. Collis Potter Huntington was one of the Big Four of western railroading (along with Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins, and Charles Crocker) who built the Central Pacific Railroad as part of the first U.S. transcontinental railroad. Huntington then helped lead and develop other major interstate lines such as the Southern Pacific Railroad and the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, which he was recruited to help complete. The C&O, completed in 1873, fulfilled a long-held dream of Virginians of a rail link from the James River at Richmond to the Ohio River Valley. The new railroad facilities adjacent to the river there resulted in expansion of the former small town of Guyandotte, West Virginia into part of a new city which was named Huntington in his honor.
NOW YOU CAN OWN A PIECE OF COUNTY HISTORY! The Cabell County 200th Anniversary Special Edition is a Collector's Grade .12 gauge side by side double barrell shotgun, fully plated in 24-karat gold with the engraved artwork defined with jewelry-grade nickel and containing images inspired by Cabell County's distinguished history. A unique work of art for those collectors who value our history and great beauty!
Only 10 will ever be produced! Each is individually numbered and comes with a Certificate of Authenticity. Reservations are accepted in the order in which they are received. To place your order or to find more information, please e-mail us or call (866) 895-9355 or (970) 215-0677. Ask about our hard-sided canvas presentation cases!
$ 2,895.00
