Although a minor skirmish, this is considered the earliest notable land action of the American Civil War.

The earliest settlers on the section of bottomland that would one day become Philippi were William Anglin (as early as 1783 or '84) and Daniel Booth (1787).

A ford existed here as early as 1789 which served the road that had recently been surveyed between Beverly and Sandy Creek.

[6] William Friend Wilson married Booth's daughter and built a wool and grain mill on the river in 1818.

Hoff settled at Cherry Hill, just west of the current city limits of Philippi.

After Hoff became the postmaster, the community that would become Philippi was known as "Hoffsville" and remained so until 1841 when the name "Philippa" was first considered.

The land was first the property of William Anglin, and in succession was owned by John Wilson, Daniel Booth, Ely Butcher, Elmore Hart, Thomas H. Hite and William F. Wilson, who divided it into lots and disposed of the most of it within a few years of the establishing of the county seat.

"[9] As Maxwell implies, St Paul's Epistle to the Philippians and the ancient Battle of Philippi were no doubt influential in the final form of the name.

In 1852 Lemuel Chenoweth, an Appalachian architect and carpenter, built a covered bridge in Philippi to provide a link on the turnpike running between Beverly and Fairmont.

The Philippi Covered Bridge spelled the end of the commercial ferry operation and is still the town's prominent landmark.

The battle was promptly lampooned as the "Philippi Races" because of the hurried retreat by the Confederate troops encamped in the town.

After firing a few shots at the advancing Union troops, the Southerners broke lines and began running frantically to the south, some still in their bed clothes.

In 1904, citizens passed a bond issue permitting the city to begin generating electricity for the first time by gas.

The building contractor was J.P. Conn. Rail activity at Philippi peaked in the 1920s when as many as six passenger trains, along with mail and freight, transited the town daily.

The automobile brought about a decline in the local railroad service, however, and the final passenger train made its last stop in Philippi in 1956.

[12] Throughout its history, Philippi has suffered from floods because of its proximity to the river and the relatively low elevation of most of the town.

On July 31, 2023, the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission revoked Alderson Broaddus University's ability to confer degrees after the end of the year, and ordered to it cease admitting students, due to its "rapidly deteriorating financial condition".

[16] The original settlement that became the town of Philippi was on a section of bottomland at a bend in the river at the mouth of Anglin's Run.

Opposite this bottomland, at the western landing of "Booth's Ferry", is a sharp ridge which breaks abruptly down to the river and is still known as "Nobusiness Hill".

A railroad line runs through Philippi, now used only by freight trains, passenger rail service having been discontinued in 1956.

The climate in this area is characterized by hot humid summers and generally mild to cool winters.

Philippi's economy was originally based on coal mining and the railroad industry, but both have declined severely since the mid-20th century.