[6] The county was founded in 1787 and is named for Edmund Jennings Randolph.

[7] Randolph County comprises the Elkins, West Virginia, Micropolitan Statistical Area.

The first attempt by Europeans to settle in present-day Randolph County came in 1752 or '53 when David Tygart — for whom the Tygart Valley River was named — and Robert Foyle (later called Files) located (separately) with their families in the vicinity of present-day Beverly.

Although there had been no recent history of conflicts between Europeans and Native Americans in that immediate area, that summer a party of Native Americans traveling the Shawnee Trail discovered the Foyle cabin and killed seven members of the family.

1733–1807), born in Maryland, obtained a title to 400 acres of land (“by virtue of a settlement”) in the future Elkins area before 1778.

Minor actions of the American Civil War which took place in Randolph County include the Battle of Rich Mountain and a part of the Battle of Cheat Mountain, both in 1861.

Later that year, the new state'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.

[13] Randolph County was divided into nine districts: Beverly, Clarke, Clay, Dry Fork, Green, Mingo Flats, Reynolds, Scott, and Union.

Several of these were renamed during the 1870s: Clark became Valley Bend, Clay became New Interest, Green became Leadsville, Mingo Flats was abbreviated to Mingo, Reynolds became Huttonsville, Scott became Roaring Creek, and Union became Middle Fork.

[22] In terms of ancestry, 26.3% were German, 15.9% were Irish, 12.0% were English, 10.2% were American, and 5.4% were Italian.

26.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.