It is named after the daughter of the Powhatan chief of the Native Americans in the United States who came from Jamestown, Virginia.

[4] Pocahontas County is the home to the Green Bank Observatory and is part of the National Radio Quiet Zone.

When Andrew Lewis, early American pioneer, surveyor, and soldier from Virginia, came to survey one of the land grants for the Greenbrier Company in 1751, he found Jacob Marlin and Stephen Sewell living where Marlinton later developed.

Lewis had found Sewell living in a large hollow sycamore tree near the cabin.

A treaty of 1758 by Great Britain confirmed the land west of the Allegheny Mountains to the Indians and forbade his Majesty's subjects from settling or hunting here.

But the British settlers continued to move into the Indian hunting grounds, making them a target for many raids and massacres.

After the Revolution, the Indians migrated west, and the settlers' land claims were made regular.

Some Unionist refugees who had fled to Upshur County enlisted in the 10th West Virginia Infantry Regiment.

After the war most of the voters in the county were disfranchised due to their support of Richmond and the Confederacy, and full voting rights were not restored until 1871.

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

[8] Pocahontas County was initially divided into four townships, each of which was given a patriotic name: Grant, Lincoln, Meade, and Union.

[9] The railroads came late to Pocahontas County, as building rails over the mountains was a difficult and expensive project.

The 1900 census of the county indicates that many European immigrants came to the region as workers on building the railroads through this area.

Commercial timbering quickly began upon completion of the railroads, including a large mill owned by the West Virginia Pulp & Paper Company (now MeadWestvaco) at Cass.

By the end of 1920, dozens of small railroading towns dotted the landscape along the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway line.

[12] The highest point is Thorny Flat on Cheat Mountain in the northwestern part of the county, elevation 4,848 feet (1,478 m).

The Monongahela National Forest protects much of the river headwaters, thereby helping to ensure improved downstream water quality.