Marion County was formed in 1842 from Harrison and Monongalia Counties and was named for Revolutionary hero General Francis Marion. It was the home of Francis H. Pierpont, a leader in the formation of this state, and the Monongahela River forms just above Fairmont. Taylor County was formed in 1844 from Marion, Harrison, and Barbour Counties and was named for John Taylor of Virginia. It was the home of Bailey Brown, the first Union soldier killed in the Civil War, who was shot on May 22, 1861, at Fetterman, now Grafton.