History
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Kanawha County was authorized in 1888 and organized in 1789 from Greenbrier and Montgomery. It was named for the Kanawha River, which bore the name of an Indian tribe. Salt making brought early settlers into the valley, and from it grew vast modern chemical plants. Putnam County was formed in 1848 from Cabell, Mason, and Kanawha. It was named for Gen. Israel Putnam, a Revolutionary War hero. The county is crossed by trails made by American bison to the Ohio River, and its oldest town, Buffalo, was named for them.
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West Virginia · United States
