Small towns, big welcome
Welcome
to Marion
Welcome to Marion County! I’m so glad you’re here!
Say hi
You know those small towns you always hope to find, like in Christmas movies or funny tv shows? I think I found it here.
The pockets of history are so interesting, but you have to know where to look. And I don’t know how to describe their strange love of monsters or hot dogs. Just come to the Frank N Stein Festival and maybe you can tell me.
The sights are really beautiful. Valley Falls, Pricketts Fort, Dents Run. You could do your trail running here or just sit by the water like I did.
And the food here! It’s like Italy meets Appalachia. It’s a whole new culture! Come see for yourself!
Wish you were here
Postcards from our towns
More towns on the way.
Where to point the car
Our Towns
Marion County spans more than 312 square miles and has 11 municipalities, including three cities and eight towns. Learn about each place that makes up Marion County. A local artist drew every one of these by hand.
The friendly city
Fairmont
Our county seat. You’ll find a park on the river, a university, and the bakery where the pepperoni roll was born.
See things to do →
Fair country
Mannington
Rolling farm country, and a district fair that’s been running since 1917.
See what’s on →
Covered crossing
Barrackville
Home to one of the oldest covered bridges in West Virginia, built back in 1853.
See its history →
On the river
Rivesville
A little river town on the Monongahela, a few miles north of Fairmont.
See things to do →
Still water
Curtisville Lake
A quiet lake in the hills near Mannington. Bring a fishing line.
See things to do →
Rolling country
The back roads
Ridgelines, round barns, and long farm views on the roads between towns.
Plan a drive →
Got a Saturday to spare? Monongah and Farmington have their own covered bridges and diners, and the u-pick farms fill up with blueberries by midsummer. Ask us and we’ll point you somewhere good.
Hidden in plain sight
History & Heritage
A 1774 frontier fort, the coal that built a nation, and the rivers that carried it out. Marion County wears its history well.
Living history
Pricketts Fort
Pricketts Fort State Park recreates the 1774 refuge where frontier families sheltered on the edge of the Ohio Valley. From spring through fall, costumed interpreters keep the old skills going, like blacksmithing, weaving, and black-powder shooting.
Coal country
The seams that built a nation
The hills around Fairmont held some of the richest coal seams in the country, and the county grew up around them. It’s a proud, complicated history, and the local museums and markers tell it honestly.
Italian Fairmont
Feast of the Seven Fishes
Every December, downtown Fairmont fills with the smell of fried smelt and calamari for the Feast of the Seven Fishes. It’s a citywide thank-you to the Italian families who came for the mines and made the county home.
Did you know
Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton — America’s sweetheart of the 1984 Games — grew up right here in Fairmont.
Not sure where to start?
Let us map it out
Tell us what you’re into and we’ll build you a route through the towns.