[4] In 1863, West Virginia's counties were divided into civil townships, with the intention of encouraging local government.

This proved impractical in the heavily rural state, and in 1872 the townships were converted into magisterial districts.

[5] Lewis County was initially divided into five townships: Battelle, Jane Lew, Lincoln, Sheridan, and Willey.

The median income for a household in the city was $45,345 and the poverty rate was 17.2%.

[12] As of the 2010 United States census, there were 16,372 people, 6,863 households, and 4,570 families living in the county.

[13] In terms of ancestry, 17.5% were American, 15.0% were German, 9.9% were Irish, and 7.2% were English.

[16] As of the census of 2000, there were 16,919 people, 6,946 households, and 4,806 families living in the county.

The racial makeup of the county was 98.59% White, 0.13% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 0.08% from other races, and 0.70% from two or more races.

26.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.