Alton, West Virginia

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Alton
Unincorporated community
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Alton
Location within the state of West Virginia
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Alton
Alton (the US)
Coordinates: 38°49′9″N80°12′50″W / 38.81917°N 80.21389°W / 38.81917; -80.21389 Coordinates: 38°49′9″N80°12′50″W / 38.81917°N 80.21389°W / 38.81917; -80.21389
Country United States
State West Virginia
County Upshur
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
  Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)

Alton is an unincorporated community on the Buckhannon River in Upshur County, West Virginia, United States.

Unincorporated area Region of land not governed by own local government

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not governed by a local municipal corporation; similarly an unincorporated community is a settlement that is not governed by its own local municipal corporation, but rather is administered as part of larger administrative divisions, such as a township, parish, borough, county, city, canton, state, province or country. Occasionally, municipalities dissolve or disincorporate, which may happen if they become fiscally insolvent, and services become the responsibility of a higher administration. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. In most other countries of the world, there are either no unincorporated areas at all, or these are very rare; typically remote, outlying, sparsely populated or uninhabited areas.

Buckhannon River river in the United States of America

The Buckhannon River is a 45.4-mile-long (73.1 km) tributary of the Tygart Valley River in north-central West Virginia, USA. Via the Tygart Valley, Monongahela and Ohio rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of 309 square miles (800 km2) on the unglaciated portion of the Allegheny Plateau. It provides drinking water for much of Upshur County.

Upshur County, West Virginia County in the United States

Upshur County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 24,254. Its county seat is Buckhannon. The county was formed in 1851 from Randolph, Barbour, and Lewis counties and named for Abel Parker Upshur, a distinguished statesman and jurist of Virginia. Upshur served as United States Secretary of State and Secretary of the Navy under President John Tyler.

Alton is located at the junction of County Routes 32 and 11/9. The community was originally known as Pringles Mill after the local Pringle family, descendents of John and Samuel Pringle. The Pringle brothers became popular in West Virginia folklore when they took up residence in a sycamore tree and lived there until the fall of 1767, when John went back to the South Branch Potomac River valley and learned that the French and Indian War was over and that they were no longer wanted as deserters.

County highway type of highway

A county highway is a road in the United States and in the Canadian province of Ontario that is designated and/or maintained by the county highway department. Route numbering can be determined by each county alone, by mutual agreement among counties, or by a statewide pattern.

West Virginia State of the United States of America

West Virginia is a state located in the Appalachian region in the Southern United States and is also considered to be a part of the Middle Atlantic States. It is bordered by Pennsylvania to the north, Maryland to the east and northeast, Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, and Ohio to the northwest. West Virginia is the 41st largest state by area, and is ranked 38th in population. The capital and largest city is Charleston.

French and Indian War North American theater of the worldwide Seven Years War

The French and Indian War (1754–1763) pitted the colonies of British America against those of New France, each side supported by military units from the parent country and by American Indian allies. At the start of the war, the French colonies had a population of roughly 60,000 settlers, compared with 2 million in the British colonies. The outnumbered French particularly depended on the Indians.


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Shenandoah Valley valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia in the United States

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