Taylor County is named for John Taylor, who was a United States Senator from Virginia.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Marion County and Monongalia County
E – Preston County
S – Barbour County
W – Harrison County
Created: January 19, 1844 
County Seat:
Williamsport 1844 – 1878
Grafton 1878 – present
County Courthouse – Grafton
Location: 214 West Main Street / Ethel Street
Built: 1880 – 1882
Style: Romanesque Revival
Architect: Mr. Werne of Parkersburg
Contractor: James Davidson
Description: The building faces north and is a three story buff and red colored brick structure. The building is located in the center of Grafton. The north front is along the street line and has a central four story square brick tower. On the northeast corner is a large tower of three stories. The central entrance on the first story has four columns at flanking the arched opening. Above is gabled roof. On the third story is a projecting dormer at the roof line. The roof is hipped. In the interior, the courtroom is located on the third story. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 19th Judicial Circuit, County Magistrates Court and Family Court. An addition was constructed in 1909. The architect was John C Tibbetts and the contractor was Jones & Thomas. An addition was constructed in 1924, the architect was Holmboe & Pogue.
County Courthouse Annex – Grafton
Location: 214 West Main Street / Ethel Street
Built: 1975 – 1976
Style: Modern
Architect: Whalen King Associates
Contractor: Mellon-Stuart Company
Description: The building faces north and is a two story brown colored brick structure. The building is attached to the courthouse on the west side. The north front has a large recessed porch with two square brick pillars. The roof line is flat.
Brinkman Opera House ( Second Courthouse ) – Grafton
Location: 62 -76 West Main Street / Latrobe Street
Built: 1875 – 1879
Style: Italianate
Architect: George Brinkman
Contractor: George Brinkman
Description: The buildings face north and are three two-story brown colored brick Italianate style structures. The buildings are located in the center of Grafton to the east of the courthouse. The buildings contained seven storerooms, a saloon, a bakery, a meeting hall, an 800 seat Opera House and a home for Brinkman’s family. The court occupied the Opera House section from 1878 to 1880 as the second courthouse.
See: The 19th Judicial District includes Barbour County.
History: The county was created in 1844 and Pruntytown was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was built and the first jail was the home of Abraham Williams which was leased until Zedekkiah Kidwell built a jail at a cost of $1,954. The jail was destroyed by lightning in 1864. The county seat was moved to Grafton in 1878. The court used the Brinkman Opera House as the second courthouse while the third and present courthouse was constructed in 1879 to 1882.
County Courthouse – Grafton
County Courthouse Annex – Grafton
Photos taken 2012