The town of Wise was known as Big Glades when a post office was established there in 1850, and before being incorporated as Wise in 1926 it was also called Gladeville and Wise Court House. Since the creation of Wise County in 1856, named for Henry Alexander Wise, governor of Virginia from 1856 to 1860, the town has served as the county seat. During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought there between Union and Confederate troops on 7 July 1863. After the Civil War, the town grew because of the expansion of the railroads and the increased mining of coal in the region. The current county courthouse was completed in 1896.